12 
USEFUL TURDS 
THE YELLOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER OR SAPSUCKER 
This illustration Avill prove helpful in enabling one to dis- 
tinguish betAveen this injurious form and other woodpeckers Avhich 
are useful. In striking* contrast to other birds whose tongues are 
extensile for extracting* borers from infested trees, the tongue 
of this species has a somewhat “brushlike” tip. It cannot be pro- 
truded to any extent, and is thus modified for an entirely different 
diet from that of other members of the same family. That it seri- 
ously injures birches, maples, mountain ash, apple, evergreen, and 
other trees by girdling them with holes in its seeking for sap and 
cambium goes without saying. It may and prol)ably does consume 
a few insects which are attracted to the bleeding* holes, but not in 
sufficient numbers or of the right kind to compensate for the injury 
inflicted upon the trees. The bird is al)out inches long. The 
adult male has crown and throat red, 1)reast black, and belly a 
shade of yellow. The female has no red on throat and the red color 
of the crown is sometimes replaced by black. The downy wood- 
