Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Male

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a member of the woodpecker family, Picidae.  It shares the common behaviours of most woodpeckers: it climbs tree trunks with its stiff tail as a brace,  its feet have two toes forward and two backward all with long claws enabling it to cling to tree bark, it uses its chisel-like bill to puncture and peel bark looking for insects and larvae,  it flies with an undulating flight, and it nests and roosts in holes in trees.  

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is about 22 cm long (8 inches), an average-sized woodpecker for New Brunswick.  It is migratory and arrives in April and leaves in September and October.  It is always a welcome sight to see and hear our first spring arrivals.  The male of this species if striking in appearance.  He has a bright cherry red on his chin and forehead.  These red patches are outlined in black.  The back and flanks are mottled black and white, there is a white bold upper wing and a white stripe from the bill to the belly.  Add to that a smearing of a yellowish colour on the breast and back and you have a beautiful bird!  The adult female is much the same except she lacks the red patch on the chin.  Her chin and throat are white.

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a summer resident and breeds here.  Its normal range includes most of southern Canada including Newfoundland and some of Labrador.  The only place where you won't find them is in central and southern British Columbia.  They winter in the south-eastern and central US, Mexico and Central America.  

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Female

This species feeds on sap, insects, fruits,  and berries.  They feed both by chiselling out insects and larvae from trees and also by creating sap wells in tree bark which collect sweet sap and attract insects.  They will return to their rows of sap wells periodically to feed on the trapped insects.  Note the sap wells in the photo above.  Sometimes they will catch insects in mid-air.  

They are a vocal species.  They make a nasal cat-like sound.  Their alarm call is a 'cheer-er'.  They also  communicate by beating out a specific rhythm on a hollow tree.  Their preferred habitat is mixed deciduous forest.  

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a keystone species.  Many other species thrive by using their tree cavities and sap wells.  They certainly must contribute to the succession of forests.  There are two other species of sapsuckers in North America, the Red-naped Sapsucker and the Red-breasted Sapsucker.  Where their ranges overlap, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker occasionally hybridizes with these species.  

This is a very adaptable species.  It has learned unique ways to feed and communicate with its kin.  It has adapted well to our not-so healthy forests and thrives in our area.