| Red-naped Sapsucker | |
|---|---|
 male | |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Piciformes |
| Family | Picidae |
| Genus | Sphyrapicus |
| Species | S. nuchalis |
The Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis)is species of woodpecker that is native to North America. Formerly a subspecies of the Yellow-naped Sapsucker, this bird is a common sight in the Rocky Mountain and Great Basin regions. Neat sap wells are an indication of their presence, as well as their harsh wailing cries and stuttered drumming.
Taxonomy[]
The Red-naped Sapsucker was first described by Spencer Fullerton Baird in 1858 and was initially thought to be a subspecies of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. However, there are significant genetic differences between this species and the latter, and the American Ornithologists' Union recognized it as a distinct species in the seventh edition of its North American birds checklist, published in 1998. Genetic analysis has shown that the Red-naped Sapsucker is very closely related to the Red-breasted Sapsucker, and that these two species form a superspecies with the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. All three species are known to hybridize with each other, with hybrids between Red-naped and Red-breasted Sapsuckers being particularly common. This sapsucker has has no subspecies.
Appearance[]
The Red-naped Sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker, being 7.5-8.3 inches (19-21 cm) in length, weighing 1.1-2.3 oz (32-66 g), and having a wingspan of 16.1-16.9 inches (41-43 cm). Adults have a red forehead and a red spot on the nape of their black-and white striped head. A black band runs across their chest above the mottled black and white belly. A bold white bar can be seen on thier folded wings. Female Red-naped Sapsuckers have a white patch on their chins, while males are entirely red. Juveniles have similar markings as adults, but are mottled brown.
Habitat[]
Distribution
Red-naped Sapsuckers are short-distant migrants. Red-naped Sapsuckers start departing for wintering grounds in southwest United States and farther south into Mexico in late August. They begin migrating north again in late March or early April.
Red-naped Sapsuckers are the most common in deciduous and streamside forests, especially in and around aspen, cottonwood, and willow. They breed in mixed forests from around 1,000 to 10,000 feet in elevation. Sometimes they also breed in gardens, yards, and high-elevation forest edges. Sapsuckers tend to avoid oak or pine-oak forests during the breeding season, but use them during migration and winter.
Life History[]
Diet[]
When the leaves of willow, birch, alder, and chokecherry start to form, they drill small rectangular holes into the phloem (inner bark) of the tree to access the sap. Unlike what their name implies, they don't suck up the sap. Instead they lap up the sap that sticks to the stiff hairs on their specialized tongue. In early spring before the sap of the more sugary trees starts flowing, they drill parallel rows of circular holes into the xylem (sapwood) of juniper, Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, white spruce, aspen, and black cottonwood. Sapsuckers will return periodically when the sap returns out. They also eat insects and arachnids that they pick off foliage, catch in midair, or that become caught in the sap. Sapsuckers also eat berries, tree tissues, and seeds. During nesting season, they eat more insects and feed them to their young.
Breeding[]
When faced with an intruder, sapsuckers will thrust their heads, flick one or both wings up, raise their crest, fluff their throat feathers, or give chase to drive them out. In early spring, sapsuckers chase prospective mates around trees, loudly calling as they go. Courting birds face each other with bills raised, throat feathers fluffed out, and crest feathers raised while swinging their bills side to side. To indicate their readiness for mating, males, and sometimes females, will squeal. If a female is receptive she responds by dropping her wings, lifting her tail, and throwing her head back. They form monogamous pairs for the duration of the breeding season, sometimes staying with the same mate in successive seasons. However, it may be that the nesting tree that they are returning to rather than their mate.
Nesting[]
Sapsuckers nest in a tree cavity, usually a deciduous tree, 6-60 feet above the ground. They favor live trees larger than 11 inches in diameter that are affected by heartwood decay fungus, but will also nest in dead or dying conifers, which makes excavation easier. Red-naped sapsuckers typically excavate their first cavity relatively close to the ground, but make progressively higher excavations over subsequent years. Males do most of the excavating to create a nesting cavity, but females occasionally help. They chip away the interior of the cavity, creating a cushion of wood chips for the eggs instead of adding material to line the inside of the cavity. It can take anywhere from 6 days to 4 weeks to excavate a cavity. Nest holes are about 1.5 inches wide and 1.5 inches tall, with the interior being around 4.5 inches wide.
Red-naped Sapsuckers lay 3-7 white eggs that are 0.8-1.1 inches (2-2.7 cm) wide and 0.6-0.7 inches (1.6-1.8 cm) long. Both sexes incubate for 8-12 days. The hatchlings are born altricial, naked, and helpless. After 25–29 days of hatching, the young are old enough to fly and leave the nest. Parents teach their young the sapsucking habit and feed them for about 10 days after they leave nest. Red-naped Sapsuckers have 1 brood per year.
Nest trees are often reused, but usually a new nest cavity is drilled.
Sounds[]
The Red-naped Sapsucker will give a harsh alarm call when in danger or distrubed. They call while perched or in flight, and call more frequently in the breeding season than at other times of year. Males and females also give a dry raspy chatter in flight to each other, especially early in the breeding season. This chatter persist for as little as a few seconds to more than 10 seconds. A harsh and short squeal is used to attract a mate.
Sapsuckers have a slow and irregular drumming pattern. The drum starts off with a few quick knocks, followed by a pause and a series of knocks with irregular intervals. Both sexes drum, although males drum more often than females. Drumming serves to attract mates and to establish territory.
Conservation[]
Red-naped Sapsuckers are common throughout their range. Populations are stable and a have experienced a non-significant increase in 1966 and 2015, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 2 million, with 51% spending some part of the year in the U.S., 49% breeding in Canada, and 59% wintering in Mexico. The Red-naped Sapscuker is not on the 2016 State of North America's Birds' Watch List. The species rates a 9 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, and is a U.S.-Canada Stewardship species. These birds were historically shot as an orchard pest, but are now protected. Forestry practices may affect abundance in certain areas.