The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius, is a medium-sized woodpecker.

Taxonomy

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is part of the New World sapsucker genus Sphyrapicus which is within the woodpecker family Picidae The genus also includes the Red-naped Sapsucker, Red-breasted Sapsucker and Williamson's Sapsucker.

Description

Adults are black on the back and wings with white bars; they have a black head with white lines down the side and a red forehead and crown, a yellow breast and upper belly, a white lower belly and rump and a black tail with a white central bar. Adult males have a red throat; females have a white throat.

Vocalization

They drum and give a cat-like call in spring to declare ownership of territory.

Distribution and Habitat

Their breeding habitat is forested areas across Canada, eastern Alaska and the northeastern United States. They prefer young, mainly deciduous forests. There is also a disjunct population found in high elevations of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Ecology and Behavior

Diet

Like other sapsuckers, these birds drill holes in trees and eat the sap and insects drawn to it. They may also pick insects from tree trunks or catch them in flight. They also eat fruit and berries.

Reproduction

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers nest in a large cavity excavated in a deciduous tree, often choosing one weakened by disease; the same site may be used for several years.

They will mate with the same partner from year to year, as long as both birds survive. They sometimes hybridize with Red-naped Sapsuckers or Red-breasted Sapsuckers where their breeding ranges overlap.

Wintering and Migration

These birds migrate to the southeastern United States, West Indies and Central America, leaving their summer range. This species has occurred as a very rare vagrant to Ireland and Great Britain.

Female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - molting juvenile.