Evening star., 1946-12-11
This and That
Bvchuvzes E.Trdceuell.
CHEVY CHASE.

Dear Sir:
Recently we have had an interesting
woodpecker in our yard. but we do not
know which one. 1t has red head, and
its back and sides are barred with
black and white.
"The bird reminds me OF zebra.
"It has come to our feeding station,
and Is eating sunflower seeds. did not
think woodpeckers would come to feed
ers.
sIf you can identity this one, viii be
very much pleased.
yours truly. w. M. T."
y 4
This bird Is the red-bellied wood
pecker.
1t is about 9s inches long. and Is SO
covered with alternating stripes that In
some sections of the country it Is called
the zebra bird.
The red which gives it the common
name is by no means as red or as much
of 1t as the red on the head.
The male bird has red. varying slightly
as it goes back, from the front top OF the
head clear back and coming around the
neck
The female does not have the red on
the front of the head, and by no means
as much on the stomach. AS matter OF
fact, it is almost impossible to see any
red on the belly of the male, unless one
is very close.
1t is here as with the hairy wood
pecker-it is difficult to tell that one
species is more hairy than another, and
certainly the red-headed woodpecEer,
so-called, seems to have about as much
red on the stomach as does the red
bellied woodpecker The red head Of the
red-headed woodpecker is more in the
nature Of a complete coverage than is
the red on the head Of the bird under
discussion.
Seven woodpeckers come to this sec
tion. These are the flicker, the ptleated
woodpecker occasionally, the red-bel-
lied woodpecker, the red-headed wood
pecker. the yellow -be1lied sapsucker, the
hairy woodpecker and the downy wood
pecker.
Only an ornithologist, with dead birds
in hand, can tell just what makes the
hairy woodpecker hairy, and the doWny
woodpecker downy. But any one can
tell the difference as the birds come to
winter garden
OF ali the woodpeckers, the best friend
of the home owner Is the little doWny.
The smallest of the lot. he also Is the
pleasantest.
Most of these birds like suet, and will
be seen at some time or other sampling
it. if cage Of 1t is hung to tree or
fence.
When weather gets cold, as it did re-
Gently, down in the low 20s, the wood
peckers are more likely to eat seeds.
The downy often combs tree trunks
for small insect eggs, and any insects, IN
one form or another, which have left
themselves open to his industrious bill.
The yellow-bellied sapsucker is large,
and is no desirable addition to yard,
especially If there are maple trees pres
ent. He usually shows up In early JAM
uary or February, and can ruin q tree
before the householder realizes what he
is up to-
Some persons claim this species does
no real damage, but experts will tell
you differently. They say that what he
does will take several years to show up,
maybe, but that in the end It is none the
less sure.
The red-bellied woodpecker and the
downy and the red-headed species are
not the same sort OF birds They seldom
do any damage, despite their drumming
or pecking. Occasionally one will peck
out some rotten wood in cornice or
elsewhere, but this ought to come out,
in any case.
The woodpeckers like to drum or,
metal. This Is said to be love call,
and may be heard In the spring
throughout the suburban sections,
Downspouts and cutters along caves are
favorites for such drumming, although
we have seen red-bellied Woodpecker
drumming away industriously on gar
bage can laid on its side to dry.