Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus variusOrder: PICIFORMES Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Codes: Common Name: YBSA Scientific Name: SPHVAR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178202

Breeding Location:

Forests

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Loose colonies, Small colonies

Breeding Population:

Common to fairly common

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

4 - 7

Incubation Days:

12 - 13

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Wood chips in base of cavity.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black-and-white mottled upperparts, white rump, and yellow-washed white underparts. Red throat has black border. Red crown and black-and-white striped face and neck are distinct. Wings are dark with large white shoulder patches; tail is black with black-barred, white center stripe. Female is similar but has a white throat. Juvenile is browner and lacks bright head and throat pattern.

Range and Habitat

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Breeds across Canada east of the Rockies to southern Labrador and Newfoundland south to the northern U.S. from North Dakota to New York and Connecticut and south through the Appalachians to northwest Georgia. Spends winters in the southeastern U.S., the West Indies, and in middle and high altitudes of Central America as far south as Panama. Preferred habitats include deciduous and mixed woods in foothills and lower montane regions.

Breeding and Nesting

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Four to seven white eggs are laid in a tree cavity lined with wood chips. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by both parents (male at night, female during the day).

Foraging and Feeding

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Feeds on sap, insects, fruits, and berries. Hammers trees for insects; also creates sap wells in bark to collect sap and trap insects; sometimes catches insects in mid-air.

Readily Eats

Suet, Sunflower Seed, Nuts, Sugar Water, Fruit

Vocalization

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Utters a nasal, cat-like "meow." Alarm call is "cheee-er, cheee-er." During courtship display, cries "hoih-hoih." Territorial and courtship hammering has a Morse-code quality and rhythm.

Similar Species

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Red-naped Sapsucker has red nape.

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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.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Medium woodpecker, black-and-white mottled upperparts, white rump, yellow-washed white underparts. Red throat, black border. Red crown, black-and-white striped face, neck. Dark wings have white shoulder patch. Black tail has black-barred, white center stripe.

● Song: "meow", "cheee-er, cheee-er", "hoih-hoih"

● Foraging & Feeding: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Feeds on sap, insects, fruits, and berries. Hammers trees for insects; also creates sap wells in bark to collect sap and trap insects; sometimes catches insects in mid-air.

● Breeding & nesting: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Four to seven white eggs are laid in a tree cavity lined with wood chips. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by both parents (male at night, female during the day).

● Similar species: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Red-naped Sapsucker has red nape.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid shallow wing beats with short glides.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: Breeds across Canada east of the Rockies to southern Labrador and Newfoundland south to the northern U.S. from North Dakota to New York and Connecticut and south through the Appalachians to northwest Georgia. Spends winters in the southeastern U.S., the West Indies, and in middle and high altitudes of Central America as far south as Panama. Preferred habitats include deciduous and mixed woods in foothills and lower montane regions.

^BreedingMonogamous, Loose colonies, Small colonies

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.8 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

Rump

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

Shoulder

The short feathers overlying the median secondary coverts on the top of the wing. They are located near the back and can be seen as the “first row” of feathers on the birds wing. They are also called marginal coverts and lesser secondary coverts.

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