Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus variusOrder: PICIFORMES Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

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

Head

Topo Map: Tree-clinging-like Head

Bill Shape: Dagger, All-purpose
Eye Color: Brown.
Head Pattern: Eyeline, Plain, Striped, Special (unique patterns or features)
Crown Color: Red
Forehead Color: Red with thin white stripe at base of bill.
Nape Color: Black with wide white stripe across back of neck.
Throat Color: Red
Cere color: No Data

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Body

Topo Map: Tree-clinging-like Body

Length Range: 20-23 cm (8-9 in)
Weight: 51 g (1.8 oz)
Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
Color: Red, White, Black
Underparts: White with pale yellow wash.
Upperparts: Black and white barring.
Back Pattern: Barred or banded
Belly Pattern: Solid
Breast Pattern: Solid

Flight

Topo Map: Tree-clinging-like Flight

Flight Pattern: Alternates several rapid shallow wing beats with short glides.
Wingspan Range: 41-46 cm (16-18 in)
Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
Tail Shape: Squared Tail
Tail Pattern: Barred
Upper Tail: Black with white bars on central feathers.
Under Tail: Black
Leg Color: Gray

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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.

● 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

Tree-clinging-like Head

Tree-clinging-like Body

Tree-clinging-like Flight

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