. The American natural history; a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America. Natural history. THE SAPSUCKER 213 The Hairy Woodpecker^ is so closea coun- terpart of the downy, in appearance and habits, that it is unnecessary to describe both. The former is larger, but its rank as an insect exter- minator is a little lower. Its proportion of in- sect food is 68 per cent, and vegetable, 31 per cent. Of the former, ants make up 17 per cent, beetles 24 per cent, and caterpillars 21 per cent. The only cultivated fruits found in eighty-two stomachs were blackberries; but w
. The American natural history; a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America. Natural history. THE SAPSUCKER 213 The Hairy Woodpecker^ is so closea coun- terpart of the downy, in appearance and habits, that it is unnecessary to describe both. The former is larger, but its rank as an insect exter- minator is a little lower. Its proportion of in- sect food is 68 per cent, and vegetable, 31 per cent. Of the former, ants make up 17 per cent, beetles 24 per cent, and caterpillars 21 per cent. The only cultivated fruits found in eighty-two stomachs were blackberries; but wild fruits were well represented. This bird inhabits practically the same region as the downy woodpecker, and belongs in the ranks of the farmer's best friends. The Tellow-Bellied Sapsucker ~ is prac- tically the only woodpecker which inflicts serious damage upon man's property; and possibly it may in some localities become so numerous as to require thinning out. Any bird which deliber- ately girdles a tree and kills it is a bird entitled to serious consideration, and punishment ac- cording to the harm it does. This bird eats great quantities of insects, but as dessert it is fond of the sap of certain trees, among which are the maple, birch, white ash, apple, mountain-ash and spruce. Into the soft, green bark of these trees, this Sapsucker drills small, squarish holes, that look like gimlet holes. Usually they are placed in a horizontal line, and sometimes in mathematical groups. Oc- casionally several lines of these holes will quite girdle a tree. The bird not only drinks the sap that exudes, but he lies in wait to catch the winged insects and ants that are attracted to the sweet fluid, and devours great numbers of them,. Dr. C. Hart !Merriam, who has closely observed the work of the Sapsucker, states that frequently mountain-ash trees are girdled to death by this bird, but that trees of greater endurance, like the apple and thorn-apple, are more able to sur- vive its attacks.
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