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Gorged sapsucker



The two Holly trees outside my bedroom window are loaded with berries, and
have been mobbed every morning by flocks of waxwings and robins. They also
house carolina wrens, white throats, juncos and cardinals. All of this is
great--and entirely expected.
	What I did not expect was to see a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker land
on a nearby Maple tree, take a few desultory pecks, and then fly to the
holly  where he was literally five feet from my nose. Clinging awkwardly
to a Holly sprig he downed four or five berries and then flew back to the
bare maple where he lingered completely motionless, as though sated.
Yesterday also I saw him on the tree but not actually eating. 
	I had thought that Sapsuckers ate the insects that stick to the
sap running from their holes (or the sap itself). I had never thought that
they would regularly eat berries. Is this the behaviour of a bird
desperate for a few calories, or do they normally supplement their deit
with fruits?
	Anyway, my bedroom list is growing. The Hollies are not just
beautiful, but also, it seems, useful. 

*****************************************************
SHANTANU PHUKAN
Lecturer in Urdu-Hindi & Indian Literature
University of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill
Curriculum in Asian Studies
Alumni Hall 413C
Chapel Hill, N.C. 27599

phukan@email.unc.edu
919-962-6825
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