Common Name

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Scientific Name

Sphyrapicus varius

A migratory woodpecker mottled with white and black with vertical white wing stripes. The male has a red crown and throat, and the female has only a red crown. The underparts, excluding the pale breast and above, are tinged yellow, transitioning to a whiter color in the lower region. The quietest and least conspicuous of the woodpeckers, Sapsuckers bore horizontal and vertical rows of holes into trees, let the sap run down the trunk, and suck it up with their tongues. They return many times to the same tree, also consuming the insects attracted to the sap

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Piciformes
  • Family: Picidae
  • Genus: Sphyrapicus
  • Species: Sphyrapicus varius
Habitat

Forest

Distribution

The yellow-bellied sapsucker is found across Canada, eastern Alaska and the northeastern United States. These birds winter in the eastern United States, West Indies and Central America.

Abundance

Common

Activity Time

Diurnal

Diet

Tree sap, fruits nuts and insects

Behavior

The yellow-bellied sapsucker usually forages by itself, although it sometimes joins small groups in the winter, and occasionally mixes into flocks of insectivores in the winter.[

Ecological Role

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Threats & Impacts

Notes