. [Collected reprints, 1895-1916. Birds. 9 of other birds; also of attacking youug birds and poultry and pecking out their brains, but as the stomachs showed little evidence to substan- tiate this charge it is probable that the habit is rather exceptional. It has been customary to speak of the smaller woodpeckers as "sap- suckers," under the belief that they drill holes in the bark of trees for the purpose of drinking the sap and eating the inner bark. Close obser- vation, however, has fixed this habit upon only one species, the yellow- bellied woodpecker, or sapsucker [Sjpliyrapicus
. [Collected reprints, 1895-1916. Birds. 9 of other birds; also of attacking youug birds and poultry and pecking out their brains, but as the stomachs showed little evidence to substan- tiate this charge it is probable that the habit is rather exceptional. It has been customary to speak of the smaller woodpeckers as "sap- suckers," under the belief that they drill holes in the bark of trees for the purpose of drinking the sap and eating the inner bark. Close obser- vation, however, has fixed this habit upon only one species, the yellow- bellied woodpecker, or sapsucker [Sjpliyrapicus varius) (fig 5). This bird has been shown to be guilty of pecking holes in the bark of various forest trees, aod sometimes in that of apple trees, from which it drinks the sap. Fio. 4—Rcd-lieaded woodpecker. when the pits become filled. It has been proved, however, that besides taking the sap the bird captures large numbers of insects which are attracted by the sweet fluid, and that these form a very considerable portion of its diet. In some cases the trees are injured by being thus punctured, and die in a year or two, but since comparatively few are touched the damage is not great. It is equally probable, moreover, that the bird fully compensates for this injury by the insects it consumes. The vegetable food of woodpeckers is varied, but consists largely of small fruits and berries. The downy and hairy woodpeckers eat such fruits as dogwood, Virginia creeper, and others, with the seeds of. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Beal, F. E. L. (Foster Ellenborough Lascelles), 1840-1916. s. l. , s. n.
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Keywords: ., bookauthorb, bookcentury1900, bookpublisherslsn, booksubjectbirds
