Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | |
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![]() male | |
Scientific Classification | |
Kingdom | Animalia |
Phylum | Chordata |
Class | Aves |
Order | Piciformes |
Family | Picidae |
Genus | Sphyrapicus |
Species | S. varius |
Though the name sounds like a cartoonist's invention, the Yellow-belied Sapsucker is an actual bird that resides in Canada in eastern United States.
Appearance[]

Female
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are fairly small woodpeckers with stout, straight bills. They are 7.1-8.7 inches (18-22 cm) in length, weigh 1.5-1.9 oz (43-55 g), and have a wingspan of 13.4-15.8 inches (34-40 cm). The long wings extend about halfway to the tip of the stiff, pointed tail when resting. Often times, the crown feathers are held up to form a peak at the back of the head.

Juvenile
Both sexes have red foreheads, but only males also have red throats. Bold black-and-white stripes curve from the face toward a black chest and mottled yellowish belly. A distinctive mark is the conspicuous white wing stripe, which is both visible at rest and in flight.
Juveniles are mottled brown.
Habitat[]

Distribution
In the spring and summer, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers prefer young forests and edge habitat, especially areas regenerating from timber harvesting. They can be found mostly in mixed coniferous and deciduous woods up to an elevation of about 6,500 feet. For nesting, small trees such as aspen, maple, and birch are preferred. During migration and in winter, they are found in a broader range of vegetation types, including orchards, palm groves, scrub, and urbanized areas.
Migration[]
Southward migration begins in September, with females being the first to depart and adult males following. Migration happens primarily east of the Rocky Mountains, mostly at night and often in flocks. Males typically winter in the U.S., from Kansas and Long Island south, while most females travel to the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America. Males typically arrive on the breeding grounds by late March in the south and early May in the north.
Life History[]
Feeding[]
As the name indicates, sap is the main food source of this species. Sap makes up only about 20% of the overall diet of this species, though at certain times, the figure can be 100%. These birds drill their wells in early spring. Sapsucker wells are neatly organized, with several holes drilled in horizontal rows. The bird first drills narrow, circular wells into the tree’s xylem — the inner part of the trunk — to feed on sap, moving up to the branches in early spring. Then, after the tree leafs out, the sapsucker begins making shallower, rectangular wells in the phloem, the part of the trunk that carries sap down from the leaves. These phloem wells must be continually maintained with fresh drilling so the sap will continue to flow. Sapsuckers tend to choose diseased or wounded trees for drilling their wells. Tree species with high sugar concentrations in their sap are targeted. They drill wells for sap year round no matter the environment. The remainder of the diet consists mostly of insects, especially ants (34% of the total diet and 68% of the summer diet). Sapsuckers catch insects by eating those stuck in sap, gleaning them from beneath a tree's bark, and catching them in midair. Insects are sometimes dipped into sap. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers also consume fruit, seeds, leaf buds, and, perhaps incidentally, some tree tissues.
Behavior[]
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers hitch up and down trees along the bark and leaning away from the trunk, using their stiff tail feathers for support. Their flight pattern is undulating, alternating between quick bursts of wing beats and short dips with wings tucked against the body. Most of their time is spent at their sapwells, either drilling them, licking sap and any insects caught in it, or chasing off other birds (such as hummingbirds) that may be attracted to the sap. They also perch at the tips of tree branches when hunting for flying insects, before launching themselves in air. Sapsuckers will also forage on the ground for ants.
In early spring, males arrive about a week ahead of females at breeding grounds, intending to establish territories by means of drumming. Before mating, sapsucker pairs engage in playful pre-courtship behavior, with one sapsucker chasing the other around tree trunks and branches. Courting birds will land on a tree and face each other with bills and tails raised, throat feathers fluffed out and crest feathers lifted whilst swinging their heads from side to side. This behavior is also used when aggressively facing off with sapsuckers of the same sex. Sapsucker mating pairs remain together for the duration of breeding season and may repair due to their habit of returning to the previous year's nesting territory.
Where their ranges overlap, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers hybridize with the Red-naped Sapsucker.
Nesting[]
Trees used for nesting are usually alive but are infected with a fungus that causes the tree’s heartwood or sapwood to decay, making excavation easier. Both sexes excavate over about 2 to 3 weeks, but the male does most of the work. No lining is placed within the nest; the eggs are laid on wood chips left over from the excavation. The entrance hole is small - only about 1.5 inches in diameter, but the cavity itself may be 10 inches deep.
The female lays 4-6 white eggs that are 0.8-1.0 inches (2-2.6 cm) long and 0.6-0.7 inches (1.6-1.8 cm) wide. The eggs are incubated by both parents for 10-13 days. Hatchlings are born altricial, naked, and blind with pink skin and a gray bill. After 8 days, their eyes open. Hatchlings will leave the nest at 25-30 days of age. Both parents feed the hatchlings and teach them the sapsucking habit for 10 days after chicks gain the ability to fly. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have one brood per year.
Cavity nests may be reused for several breeding seasons for up to 7 years.
Sounds[]
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker’s signature call is a scratchy, nasal mewing that is often repeated. They also have a squealing call that is used to establish territory and is often heard in breeding season. A waa call is made when disturbed or to alert others of danger.
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drums on materials that reverberate loudly, with drums starting as rapid bursts but become more drawn out as they continue. The bursts usually last between one and a half to five seconds.
Conservation[]
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker numbers have slightly increased from 1966 to 2014, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 10 million with 53% spending some part of the year in the U.S., 79% breeding in Canada, and 31% wintering in Mexico. This U.S.-Canada Stewardship species rates a 7 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score and is not on the 2014 State of the Birds Watch List. In the past, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were shot as orchard pests, but are now protected. This bird has disappeared from several southerly areas where it formerly nested, but still widespread and numerous. Sapsuckers may have grown to be more numerous than in presettlement times, as many of the old-growth forests of the past have been converted into the early successional forests that sapsuckers favor.