Species

Yellow-bellied sapsucker

Sphyrapicus varius

A quiet woodpecker that drills neat rows of holes in tree bark and returns to lap up the sap.

Photo Martin Tremblay (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Adaptation

At a glance

Size: About 19 to 21 cm long
Weight: About 35 to 55 g
Habitat: Woods, orchards and yards with trees
Diet: Tree sap, insects caught in the sap, and fruit
In Georgia: A common winter visitor, October to April
Voice: A mewing, cat-like call
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Black-and-white striped face; red forehead; males with a red throat; long white stripe on the wing; mottled back
Told apart from: Downy and hairy woodpeckers, which have white backs and no wing stripe
Where to look: Trees with neat horizontal rows of small holes

Behaviour

Sapsuckers drill rows of shallow holes, called sap wells, and return to drink the sap and eat the insects it traps. They defend their wells from other birds.

Why they matter

The sap wells sapsuckers drill feed hummingbirds, warblers and even bats and butterflies. In spring in the north, ruby-throated hummingbirds depend on sapsucker wells before flowers bloom.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A cavity in a living tree, often one with heart rot
Eggs — Usually five or six
Incubation — About 10 to 13 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about 25 to 29 days
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Sapsucker holes rarely harm healthy trees; wrapping a favourite ornamental tree's trunk with burlap for the winter moves them on.

Misconceptions

Sapsucker holes kill trees. Healthy trees usually recover.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Wintering	Wintering	Leaving	Last birds leave	Nesting farther north	Nesting	Young fledging	Present in the north	Migrating south	Arriving	Wintering	Wintering

Where it lives

Recorded in 78 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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