Notes on the Different Birds. 
113 
had gone September 28. A single one seen October 8, 10, 
11 and 13. In the Great Wood south of the railway 
there were still several November 2 and 4, but none the 7th. 
In 1883 three were seen April 9. Daily from the 12th of April. 
Most the 16th. It is not for nothing that this woodpecker is 
called “ sapsucker. ” Early in the spring it feeds a great deal 
on the sap of the sugar maple. For this —- and not, as has been 
supposed, to get the soft bark ( cambium )— it makes small holes 
in the trees. Usually a band of such holes, one just by the side 
of the other, is found. The bands are commonly regular; but 
when they are found in old trees with thick bark, they are 
sometimes a little irregular, since the bird seeks places where 
the bark is thinnest. The bands as a rule reach only half way 
round the trunk and are then found mostly on the south side, 
where the sap runs most freely; in many cases, however, they 
extend clear around the tree. The most holes are found in trees- 
from one to three feet in circumference, three feet from the 
ground. All the trees were measured at this height. In a tree 
two feet in circumference there was a ring of 60 holes. Small 
trees are also used. In a tree one-half foot in circumference I 
once found a band with five holes. In trees which measure over 
five feet in circumference holes are seldom found; the bark is 
too thick. The woodpecker must make new holes for itself 
every spring. Consequently in old trees one can often see a 
large number of bands. Usually the woodpecker begins to tap 
the young trees high up and makes one band of holes under the 
other. Naturally it would have the sap for itself; but many 
other birds are fond of the sweet drink. I do not know 
whether any other woodpecker makes holes to tap sugar-maple 
sap. But I think so. At any rate Dryobates pubescens often 
came to the holes and drank, and had on this account a quarrel 
with the rightful owner. The same was the case with Sitta 
carolinensis. Many times I saw Regulus calendula drink. It 
poised fluttering before the hole like a hummingbird seeking 
honey from a flower. May 16, 1883, when the weather was 
cold, I saw an Icterus galbula drink and drive a woodpecker 
away from its hole. But it was most interesting to see how 
Dendroica coronata , for a while after its arrival in 1883, 
