4 Merriam on Birds of Lewis County , New York. 
young and healthy trees is, I think, but partly understood. It is 
unquestionably true that they feed, to a certain extent, both upon 
the inner bark and the fresh sap from these trees, but that the 
procurement of these two elements of sustenance, gratifying as they 
doubtless are, is their chief aim in making the punctures I am in- 
clined to dispute. As the sap exudes from the newly made punc- 
tures, thousands of flies, “yellow-jackets,” and other insects congre- 
gate about the place, till the hum of their wings suggests a swarm 
of bees. If, now, the tree be watched, the Woodpecker will soon 
be seen to return and alight over that part of the girdle which he 
has most recently punctured. Here he remains, with motionless 
body, and feasts upon the choicest species from the host of insects 
within easy reach. Therefore it is my firm belief that their chief 
object in making these holes is to secure the insects which gather 
about them. 
Some time ago Mr. C. L. Bagg called my attention to a clump of 
mountain-ash whose leaves had turned yellow and were fast falling 
off. Here a pair of these birds, with their young, had established 
an unfailing food supply, and at almost any time of day several of 
their dark motionless forms might be seen adhering to the trunks 
and branches of the young trees. Evidently this had been their 
headquarters for several seasons, for all the main stems in the 
cluster were girdled for at least five feet (commencing two or three 
feet from the ground), and most of the branches of any size were 
likewise punctured. In making each girdle they work around the 
trunk, and from below upwards, but they may begin a new girdle 
below an old one. They make but few holes each day, and after 
completing two or three remain over the spot for some little time, 
and as the clear fresh sap exudes and trickles down the bark they 
place their bill against the dependent drop and suck it in with evi- 
dent relish, — a habit which has doubtless given rise to the more 
appropriate than elegant term, “ Sap-Sucker,” by which they are 
commonly known in some parts of the country. I have several 
times watched this performance at a distance of less than ten feet, 
and all the details of the process were distinctly seen, the bird 
looking at me, meanwhile, “ out of the corner of his eye.” When 
his thirst is satisfied he silently disappears, and as silently re- 
turns again, after a few hours, to feast upon the insects that have 
been attracted to the spot by the escaping sap. This bird, then, 
by a few strokes of its bill, is enabled to secure both food (animal 
