Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker
402. Sphyrapicus varius. 8½ inches
Male with a scarlet crown and throat; female with a scarlet crown and white throat; young with the head and neck mottled gray and white, with a few scarlet feathers.
This species has gained some ill-repute because of its supposed habit of boring through the bark of trees in order to get at the sap, and thus killing the trees. However, I very much doubt if they do any appreciable damage in this manner. I have watched a great many of them in the spring and fall and have clearly seen that they were feeding upon insects in the same way as the Downy.
Note.—A loud whining “whee,” and other harsh calls similar to the scream of a Blue Jay.
Nest.—In holes in trees, at heights from the ground varying from eight to fifty feet. Late in May they lay from four to seven white eggs (.85 ×.60).
Range.—U. S. east of the Rockies, breeding from Virginia and Missouri to Hudson Bay, and wintering in southern U. S.