Yellow-bellied sapsucker
(πΊππππππππππ ππππππ)
Conservation Status: Least Concern (Population decreasing)
Photo Credit: Laurie Sheppard/USFWS Southwest Region
Facts: The yellow-bellied sapsucker is one of several types of woodpeckers found within Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refugeβs divisions. Males and females both have the distinctive yellow belly, so to tell them apart, focus on their throats. The males will have a red throat while females will have a white one. They nest in tree holes typically 8 to 40 feet from the ground. Male and female sapsuckers excavate and prepare a cavity together where 5 to 6 eggs are typically laid. Both parents incubate the eggs and care for the young.
Like many woodpeckers, the yellow-bellied sapsucker is adapted to hunting for prey that live under the barks of trees. Their two toes in the front and two in the back grip the bark as their stiff tail holds them steady as they create their holes. Their skulls and neck muscles have been adapted to withstand the pounding from chiseling wood without damaging their brains. You can tell where sapsuckers have been feeding by a series of small holes in rows they excavate around the tree trunk. They will use the holes later to drink nutritious sap or eat insects that are attracted to it. Their long tongues have short hairs at the tip, allowing them to capture and drink the sap. Some of their preferred trees are fruit, birch and maples. Thus, they may be the first βmaple tappersβ of North America.
When you walk on the refuge, it might be hard to spot these small birds, so keep an eye out (and an ear) for the other signs of them. Look for the small holes in rows around the tree trunk, and like many birds, listen for their calls to know they are there. Their calls are a nasal mewing βneeahβ, a loud short territorial βQUEEahβ, and when close to other sapsuckers a βwik-a-wik-aβ. However, you wonβt find these birds on our refuge yearround. Unlike most area woodpeckers, they are migratory, spending their summers at the refuge to nest and raise their young and migrating to warmer climates for the winter.
Fun Fact: The yellow-bellied sapsucker may do all of the work making holes in the bark, but they arenβt they only ones that take advantage of the sugary sap. Chickadees, hummingbirds, some species of bats, and even porcupines have been seen benefiting off of the work of the sapsucker.
Sources: Peterson Field Guides: Bird Nests by Hal H. Harrison, 1975. National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd edition, edited by Jonathan Alderfer, 2014. Cornell University All About Birds Website, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-bellied_Sapsucker/overview. The Sibley Guide to Birds, David Allen Sibley, 2000. Kilham, Lawrence (1971). "Reproductive behavior of yellow-bellied sapsuckers I. Preference for nesting in Fomes-infected aspens and nest hole interrelations with flying squirrels, raccoons, and other animals". The Wilson Bulletin. 83 (2): 159β171.