318 LAND-BIRDS AND GAME-BIRDS 
the tree, near the spot where the male was at work, if he 
moved, it was only to return immediately. He escaped appar- 
ently uninjured and continued for some time to dig out a hole 
in the trunk, for what purpose I am uncertain, as this was on 
the 4th of October, and on the following day he disappeared. 
If any of our woodpeckers are injurious, this species (including 
the next variety) is the only one. The Yellow-bellied Wood- 
peckers are well known to strip off the bark of various trees, 
not to obtain insects so often as to feed upon the inner bark. 
Sometimes, like the Downy Woodpeckers, they bore deep holes, 
especially in orchard-trees, whence they have been called “ sap- : 
suckers.” They feed upon berries, and quite often, in common 
with other members of their family, catch insects in the man- 
ner of flycatchers, by darting at them from a perch. Their 
tongue is peculiarly constructed, and they cannot obtain an 
abundance of food in the characteristic manner of their tribe. 
They do not, however, so far as I know, ever seek it on the 
ground, though they sometimes visit fallen logs. They fly in 
undulations and rarely very far. Among the White Moun- 
tains, they may be seen not only in the woods, where removed 
from civilization, but also not unfrequently along the road- 
sides. 
(d). Their ordinary note is an indescribable whine, like 
a puppy’s moan, though Mr. Maynard thought that their 
alarm-note closely resembled that of the Blue J ay. But many 
of our woodpeckers delight in a music peculiarly their own, 
yet not unlike the drumming of the Ruffed Grouse. In spring, 
alighting on some tree, particularly one which is somewhat 
hollow and resonant, they rap loudly. The male and female 
often do this in response to one another, and it is, almost un- 
doubtedly, a love-note. It is the only music which our wood- 
peckers can produce, and it is for them by far the easiest way 
of expressing their affection. 
‘Shyrapicus varius var. nuchalis, so-called, the Red-naped or 
Red-throated Woodpecker, is probably an abnormal form, or a 
distinct species, or else its occurrence in New England must ~ 
be quite accidental. The last is probably. the case, as it is 
