34 OUR SOUTHERN BIRDS 



woods; Both are sometimes called "checker- 

 back" by those who have not learned to dis- 

 tinguish the difference. Their pretty, glossy 

 white eggs are laid in holes which they have been 

 at pains to dig out with their energetic little 

 chisels, holes carefully rounded and deeply hol- 

 lowed, and softened with fine chippings. When 

 one sees the frailty of other nests and their fre- 

 quent exposure to severe weather, one wonders 

 if young Vireos and Buntings do not envy the 

 cosily housed young Woodpeckers and their well- 

 protected mother. 



YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 



It is said that this bright-colored Woodpecker 

 injures fruit trees by boring through the bark to 

 get at the sap. This is a much-discussed point 

 in ornithological circles, which we shall be safe 

 in setting down as not proven. I have never 

 seen an orchard tree really damaged in this way ; 

 and by following the Sap sucker and watching 

 him you may see for yourself that he chops out 

 and eats borers, worms, and other troublesome 

 insects as do other Woodpeckers — a habit which 

 renders actual service to the tree. So suppose 

 we do not condemn the Sapsucker too hastily. 



He is certainly a great drinker of sap, espe- 

 cially from sweet-flavored trees like the birch. 

 His habit is to drill holes in regular row on row, 



