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Bird name:

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus ruberOrder: PICIFORMES Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Codes: Common Name: RBSA Scientific Name: SPHRUB ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178212

Breeding Location:

Forest edge

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Loose colonies, Small colonies

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

4 - 5

Incubation Days:

12 - 13

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Usually no materials except a few bark chips.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Red-breasted Sapsucker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black-and-white barred upperparts, yellow belly, and white rump. Head, nape, throat, and breast are bright red; moustache stripe is yellow. Wings are checkered black-and-white with large white patches. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has dark red-brown head, nape, and breast.

Range and Habitat

Red-breasted Sapsucker: Breeds from southeastern Alaska and British Columbia south to coastal California. Spends winters in most of its breeding range except interior British Columbia. Preferred habitats include woodlands, forest edges, and groves of aspen and alder.

Breeding and Nesting

Red-breasted Sapsucker: Four to five white eggs are laid in a cavity drilled in a tree. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Red-breasted Sapsucker: Feeds on sap, bark cambium, insects, especially ants, and some fruits. Drills sap wells in a variety of tree species.

Readily Eats

Suet, Sunflower Seed, Nuts, Sugar Water, Fruit

Vocalization

Red-breasted Sapsucker: Call is a soft, slurred "whee-ur" or "mew."

Similar Species

Red-breasted Sapsucker: Other woodpeckers in range lack large white patches on wings.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Red-breasted Sapsucker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black-and-white barred upperparts, pale yellow belly, and white rump. The head, nape, throat, and breast are bright red; moustache stripe is white. The wings are checkered black-and-white with large white patches. Black bill, gray legs and feet.

● Song: "whee-ur", "mew"

● Foraging & Feeding: Red-breasted Sapsucker: Feeds on sap, bark cambium, insects, especially ants, and some fruits. Drills sap wells in a variety of tree species.

● Breeding & nesting: Red-breasted Sapsucker: Four to five white eggs are laid in a cavity drilled in a tree. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Red-breasted Sapsucker: Other woodpeckers in range lack large white patches on wings.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid shallow wing beats with short glides.

Red-breasted Sapsucker Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Red-breasted Sapsucker: Breeds from southeastern Alaska and British Columbia south to coastal California. Spends winters in most of its breeding range except interior British Columbia. Preferred habitats include woodlands, forest edges, and groves of aspen and alder.

^BreedingMonogamous, Loose colonies, Small colonies

^Population

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.7 Ounces

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Breeding Location:

Breeding Type:

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Nest Material:

Migration:

Recommended Products:

General

Range and Habitat

Breeding and Nesting

Foraging and Feeding

Readily Eats

Vocalization

Similar Species

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Flight Pattern