YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER.
402. Sphyrapicus varius. 8½ inches.
This is one of the most handsomely marked of the family; they may be identified easily by the red crown and throat (female having white on the throat), each bordered by black, forming a wide breast band, with a band of white, black and white back of it. The under parts yellow. This species and the two following are the only real sapsuckers, a crime that is often attributed to the most useful of the family. While they without doubt will take some of the sap from trees, their food consists more of insect life, ants in particular.
Nest.—Is placed in a cavity of decayed trees. Four to seven glossy white eggs (.85 × .60).