Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus varius

Striking and unmistakable in most of range; the only sapsucker in eastern North America. Long, solid white wing patch helps distinguish it from Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. Adult male has red cap and throat; females are similar but with white throat; juveniles are messy brownish-gray overall. The namesake yellow belly can be difficult to see and is sometimes almost absent. Often looks disheveled, especially in fall and winter. Compare with the extremely similar Red-naped Sapsucker, which barely overlaps in range. Note male Yellow-bellied has complete black border around red throat patch, and the white markings on the back are more extensive and messy. Occurs in almost any wooded habitat, breeding in the boreal forest across Canada and wintering as far south as Costa Rica. Like other sapsuckers, drills rows of sap wells into tree bark. Listen for irregular drumming (like morse code) and various nasal calls.

Identification

The yellow-bellied sapsucker has a length of around .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}19 to 21 centimetres (7+1⁄2 to 8+1⁄4 in), and an average weight of 50.3 grams (1.77 oz), although this can range anywhere from 35 to 62 grams (1.2 to 2.2 oz). The yellow-bellied sapsucker has a wingspan that ranges from 34 to 40 centimetres (13+1⁄2 to 15+3⁄4 in). The forehead is coloured bright red in the male (and very occasionally yellow), and a lighter shade of red in the female. Sometimes, this is the only place on the head a female will have red colouration, if it has any at all, as the female rarely has a black head with a few buff spots. The crown is bordered black, and is usually red, and is sometimes mixed with black in the female. There is a white stripe, starting above the eye, that extends and widens to the nape, being broken up by a thin black line on the hindneck. There is a broad black stripe going through the ear-coverts and down to the side of the neck. Below this black stripe is a white stripe that goes from the nasal tufts to the side of the breast. The throat and chin can be used to differentiated between the sexes, as they are white in the female, and red in the male.The mantle of this sapsucker is white, and there are irregular black bars that extend from it to the rump. The lower rump is white, and the uppertail-coverts are white with some black webbing. The wing coverts are black, and there is a white panel on the medians and central greater-wing coverts. The flight feathers are black with white tips. The innermost tertials are white and black. The underwing is barred greyish and white. The uppertail is black, with some white webbing and white tips sometimes being present on the outer feathers. The underparts, excluding the pale breast and above, are tinged yellow, transitioning to a whiter colour in the lower region of them. The side of the breast down to the undertail coverts have black arrowhead-shaped markings.The chisel-tipped bill is relatively short and straight, with a slate to blackish colour. The legs are blue-grey to green-grey in colour, and the irides are a deep brown. The juvenile is a dark olive-brown colour overall, with a buff-striped head and a streaked crown. The throat is usually white, although in the male, there may be some red. The upperparts are generally a mottled pale and blackish colour. The breast is scaly, and the central part of the belly is a very pale yellow colour. The tail is barred more than in the adult.The yellow-bellied sapsucker, usually the male, utilizes a long distance nasal "neaaah", "owee-owee", "wee-wee-wee-wee", or "kwee-urk" at the start of breeding to attract its mate to various places within its territory. When birds of a family group meet, they exchange low "week week", "wurp wurp", or similar low calls. A scratchy "quirk quirk" is given when pairs meet at the breeding territory. When it is alarmed, this bird will utter a soft mew call, getting louder and hoarser as the threat increases. During a conflict, it produces a shrill "quarr".This sapsucker drums on materials that reverberate loudly, with drums starting as rapid bursts but becoming more drawn out as time goes on. The bursts usually last between one and a half and five seconds. These drums were previously thought to be used to indicate quality of a nesting or feeding site, but it is likely that they are used as a form of long-distance communication. Trees chosen to drum on are dead, and thus are not those used for feeding or nesting.The red-naped sapsucker is distinguished by having a red nape (back of the head). The hairy woodpecker has no red on the crown (front of the head) or throat and has blacker back. The downy woodpecker has same markings as the hairy woodpecker but is significantly smaller.

Taxonomy

The yellow-bellied sapsucker was described and illustrated using a hand-coloured plate by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published between 1729 and 1732. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he included the yellow-bellied sapsucker, coined the binomial name Picus varius and cited Catesby's book. The specific epithet varius is the Latin word meaning "various", "diverse" or "variegated". Linnaeus specified the type locality as America septentrionalis (North America) but the locality is now restricted to South Carolina. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is now placed in the genus Sphyrapicus that was erected in 1858 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird with the yellow-bellied sapsucker as the type species. Within the genus Sphyrapicus, the yellow-bellied sapsucker is sister to a clade containing the red-breasted sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber ) and the red-naped sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis). The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

Scientific name: Sphyrapicus varius
Authority: (Linnaeus, 1766)
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Sphyrapicus

Range and habitat

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. This species has occurred as a very rare vagrant to Ireland and Great Britain.When this sapsucker is breeding, it is generally found in deciduous and mixed coniferous forests up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) altitude. During the non-breeding season, on the other hand, it usually inhabits forests, but the edge of the forest, open woodland, and semi-open habitats are sometimes utilized. It is also seen at larger trees in pastures, clearings, and suburban areas, in addition to the occasional appearance in palm groves. During this time, the yellow-bellied sapsucker ranges from sea level to elevations of 3,200 metres (10,500 ft), and even 3,400 metres (11,200 ft) in some areas, although the bird normally stays between altitudes of 900 and 3,000 metres (3,000 and 9,800 ft).

Breeding range: NA : e Alaska and nw Canada to se Canada and ne USA
Non-breeding range: se USA and MA
Migration: Complete migrants

Behavior

Migration pattern: Complete migrants.

Conservation

Population trend: declining.

Population trend: declining

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

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