A medium-sized woodpecker that drills horizontal lines of small sap wells in trees, returning to harvest both sap and trapped insects. Other species (hummingbirds, kinglets) follow them to use the wells.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The yellow-bellied sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker that breeds in Canada and the northeastern United States.
Source: Wikipedia — Yellow-bellied sapsucker Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Black-and-white woodpecker with a red forehead, a long white wing stripe, a barred back, and a pale yellow wash on the belly; males also have a red throat (white on females).
Similar species. Other eastern woodpeckers lack the bold white wing stripe and red forehead; the neat rows of sap wells are a giveaway of its presence.
Voice. A nasal, cat-like, slurred 'mew' or 'neeah' and a distinctive irregular, Morse-code-like drum.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Insects (especially wood-boring beetle larvae), some fruits and seeds.
Behavior. A migratory sapsucker that drills neat horizontal rows of sap wells in tree bark and returns to lap up sap and trapped insects; the wells also feed hummingbirds and other species.
§ Range
Boreal Canada in summer; winters southeast US, Mexico
§ Habitat
Mixed forests with deciduous trees
§ Threats
Forest loss, climate-driven range shifts.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the yellow-bellied sapsucker is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Maintain mature trees. Tolerate sapsucker wells (they rarely kill trees).
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Yellow-bellied sapsucker
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Sphyrapicus varius
- IUCN Red List — search for Sphyrapicus varius
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Sphyrapicus varius
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
