135 



adapted for securing insects (except in Sphyrapicus) ; hyoid apparatus peculiar, its 

 Jiorns generally quite long, curving around the skull behind. Feet zygodactyle, 

 ■outer toe permanently reversed; hind toe present (except in Picoides) ; claws com- 

 pressed, sharp and strong. Tail featherr 12, rigid and acuminate, outer pair short, 

 concealed ; tail never forked ; nasal tufts usually present. 



Chiefly arboreal ; all (except Sphyrapicus, vv^hich is truly a "sap-sucker") are 

 pre-eminently insectivorous, and hence they are of the greatest service to the far- 

 mer. Voice loud and often harsh. Colors generally bright, the male having 

 almost always red on the head ; sexes usually slightly different. Species 250 ; 

 abundant almost everywhere. 



"They dig insects out of trees, and so are eminently beneficial to the farmer and 

 fruit grower. Contrary to a general impression, their boring does not seem to 

 injure fruit trees, which may be riddled with holes without harmful result. The 

 number of noxious insects these birds destroy is simply incalculable ; what little 

 fruit some of them steal is not to be mentioned in the same connection, and they 

 ■deserve the good will of all." {Coues.) 



HYLOTOMUS. Baird. Black Woodcocks. 



146. H. PILEATUS. Bd. Pileaied Woodpecker. Conspicuously crested; 

 black ; white streak down neck ; crest and cheek patch scarlet in male ; cheeks and 

 front of crest black in female; L. 18; W. 9}^; T. 7. Liable to "turn up" any- 

 where in North America in heavy timber. 



PICUS. L. Spotted Woodpeckers. 



147. P. VILLOSUS. L. Hairy Woodpecker. Big Sapsucker. Spotted and 

 lengthwise streaked and banded ; back black, with a long white stripe ; oucer tail 

 feathers wholly white; a scarlet nuchal band in male only. Resident, but more 

 abundant in winter than in summer, in Northern Indiana. 



148. P. PUBESCENS. L. Dozvny Woodpecker. Little Sapsucker. Much 

 ■smaller; L. 6^; outer tail feathers black and white, barred; otherwise precisely 

 like the preceding. Abundant in all wooded places. 



SPHYRAPICUS. Baird. 



149. S. VARIUS. Bd. Yellow- Bellied Woodpeckei . Tongue not extensible; 

 /the tip brushy; hyoid bones short; black and white above; black on breast; 

 chiefly yellowish below; white wing patch; crown red in adult; scarlet in female ; 

 L. 81^. 



This bird is an exception to the rule that the woodpeckers work in the interest 

 ■of the fruit-grower. He is a true ^'sap-sucker" ; the hairy and downy wood- 

 peckers do not deserve the name. The yellow-bellied sap-suckers eat fruits and 

 insects ; they injure fruit trees by stripping off the outer bark and eating the soft 

 inner bark {ca7nbiu7n layer) . There is no danger from our species, howeyer, as it is 

 mainly a migrant from March to May and in October, and is not very abundant. 

 I have seen it oftenest in tall, damp beech woods. 



CENTURUS. Swainson. Red- Bellied Woodpeckers. 



150. C. CAROLINUS. Bon. Grayish; much barred above with black and 

 white; crown and nape crimson in male; crown ashy in female; L. 8^. A com- 



