Donald A. Nolte, age 11, of Lancaster, Penna. for his question:

What is the yellow‑bellied sapsucker?

This funny name belongs to a bird. And he deserves every syllable of it. He has a yellow breast and sips sap from tree trunks. This drinking habit is unusual, for most birds sip water. Mr. Yellow‑Belly has a California cousin with a red breast. Naturally, this is the red‑bellied sapsucker. The red‑naped sapsucker is another cousin. He wears a red head and neck, a black shield on his breast and enjoys life in the Rockies.

The yellow‑bellied sapsucker is a handsome fellow. His back, wings and head are gaily speckled with black and white. He wears a scarlet tuft on his forehead and a scarlet bib under his chin. He has a pair of very bright eyes and a strong, thin pointed bill. His yellow breast is most noticeable when he flies. He is a sizeable bird, anywhere from eight to nine inches long. The coloring of this handsome fellow is remarkable, but even more remarkable are his feet. He is yoke‑toed, which classes him in the bird order of Piciformes. The toes are arranged two in front and two behind. Together, these yoke toes can grasp and cling to tree trunks.

Woodpeckers are also Piciformes. So are the gaily colored, talkative toucans of tropical America. Like the sapsuckers, all of them are yoke­-toed birds. And almost all of the Piciformes go in for bright, varicolored plumage. Woodpeckers are also Piciformes. So are the gaily colored, talkative toucans of tropical America. Like the sapsuckers, all of them are yoke­-toed birds. And almost all of the Piciformes go in for bright, varicolored plumage.

The sapsucker's drinking habits set him apart from his cousins. In the spring, the now sap begins to flow in the trunks and branches of the trees.

To the sapsucker, this new sap is as good as soda pop. He uses his hard, sharp bill to drill a row of holes through the tree bark. In the process, he may find a few insects or grubs. These he eats. He may also eat a few mouthfuls of the soft, inner bark of the tree trunk.

The sap does not flow into the drilled holes right away. The smart sapsucker knows this and flies off when he has finished drilling a long row of fairly deep holes. But he does not forget them. He returns later, when the sap has had time to ooze out of the wounds.

The sapsucker seems to prefer to sip his soda pop from a fruit tree. This makes him an orchard pest, especially in California where fruit is a major crop. The sapsucker also enjoys fruit, along with his mixed diet of insects and their eggs, grubs, bark and tree sap. However he usually prefers wild fruit to orchard fruit ‑ otherwise he would be hounded from the fruit growing regions.

Mrs. Sapsucker uses her tough bill to dig a deep hole in a true trunk. Here she builds her nest, ten to 40 feet above the ground, The wood chips and sawdust from her carpentry work are used to line the nest. The eggs are almost an inch long. They are glossy white without any marking and there are five to seven of them in a clutch.

The red‑bellied sapsucker is a year‑round resident of California. Mr. Yellow‑Belly has two homes. His winter home is in the Southland. He spends the summer and raises his children in a wide region around the Great Lakes and eastward to the Atlantic.