Bird Study 



73 



THE SAPSUCKER 



Teacher's Story 



The sapsucker is a woodpecker 

 that has strayed from the paths of 

 virtue; he has fallen into tempta- 

 tion by the wayside, and instead of 

 drilling a hole for the sake of the 

 grub at the end of it, he drills for 

 drink. He is a tippler, and sap is 

 his beverage; and he is also fond of 

 the soft, inner bark. He often 

 drills his holes in regular rows and 

 thus girdles a limb or a tree, and for 

 this is pronounced a rascal by men 

 who have themselves ruthlessly cut 

 from our land millions of trees that 

 should now be standing. It is 

 amusing to see a sapsucker take his 

 tipple, unless his saloon happens to 

 be one of our prized young trees. 

 He uses his bill as a pick and makes 

 the chips fly as he taps the tree; 

 then he goes away and taps another 

 tree. After a time he comes back 

 and holding his beak close to the 

 hole for a long time seems to be 

 sucking up the sap ; he then throws 

 back his head and "swigs" it down 



with every sign of delirious enjoyment. The avidity with which these 

 birds come to the bleeding wells which they have made, has in it all the 

 fierceness of a toper crazy for drink; they are particularly fond of the sap 

 of the mountain ash, apple, thorn apple, canoe birch, cut-leaf birch, red 

 maple, red oak, white ash and young pines. However, the sapsucker 

 does not live solely on sap, he also feeds upon insects whenever he can 

 find them. When feeding their young, the sapsuckers are true fly- 

 catchers snatching insects while on the wing. The male has the crown 

 and throat crimson, edged with black with a black line extending back of 

 the eye, bordered with white above and below. There is a large, black 

 circular patch on the breast which is bordered at the sides and below with 

 lemon yellow. The female is similar to the male and has a red forehead, 

 but she has a white bib instead of a red one beneath the chin. The 

 distinguishing marks of the sapsucker should be learned by the pupils. 

 The red is on the front of the head instead of on the crown, as is the case 

 with the downy and hairy; when it is flying the broad, white stripes 

 extending from the shoulders backward, form a long, oval figure, which is 

 very characteristic. 



The sapsuckers spend the winter in the Southern States where they 

 drill wells in the white oak and other trees. From Virginia to Northern 

 New York and New England, where they breed, they are seen only during 

 migration, which occurs in April; then the birds appear two and three 

 together and are very bold in attacking shade trees, especially the white 



The yellow bellied sapsucker. 

 Drawing by L. A. Fuertes. 



