ISO 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 

 Sphyrapicus varius varius (Linnccus) 



A. O. V. Number 402 See Color i'late hj 



Other Names. — The Sapsucker; Yellow-bellied 

 Woodpecker ; Red-throated Sapsucker. 



General Description. — Length. 8J/2 inches. Upper 

 parts, black barred with brownish-white ; lower parts, 

 red, black, and yellow. 



Color. — Adult M.\le : Forehead and crou'H, bright 

 poppv-rcd or crimson, bordered behind by a crescent of 

 glossy blue-black, extending laterally to above middle of 

 eye; nape (at least laterally) white or brownish-white, 

 rarely tinged with red ; back and shoulders, black 

 faintly glossed with greenish blue, broken by heavy 

 spotting of white or brownish white, the white pre- 

 vailing on sides of back, the black in center; rump and 

 upper tail-coverts, mostly black laterally, mostly white 

 (usually immaculate) centrally; tail, black, the inner 

 web of middle pair of feathers, white with several 

 larger or smaller oblique spots or bars of black, the 

 lateral feathers margined terminally with white (except 

 in abraded plumage) ; wings, black, the exposed portion 

 of middle coverts and outer web of greater coverts 

 (except inner one), white, forming a conspicuous 

 longitudinal patch, the outer webs of primaries and ends 

 of secondaries with large elongated spots of white, the 

 inner secondaries with much white on ends ; a broad 

 and sharply defined band of white originating at nasal 

 tufts and extending between eye and cheek regions to 

 sides of neck; a narrower stripe of white behind eye 

 extending to nape ; a cheek stripe of black, becoming 



narrower belimd where confluent with a large crcsccnt- 

 shapcd throat patch of uniform glossy blue-black : chin 

 and throat, bright poppy-red, center under parts, pale 

 yellow; sides and flanks, dull white or brownish white 

 broken by V-shaped markings of blackish; under tail- 

 coverts, white, sometimes with a few shaft-streaks or 

 other markings of blackish; bill, brownish-black; iris, 

 brown. Adult Female : Similar to the adult male, 

 but chin and throat zuhitc instead of red, and fre- 

 quently with red of crown reduced in extent, often 

 altogether wanting, the whole forehead, crown, and 

 back of head sometimes uniform glossy black, some- 

 times with small whitish streaks or arrow-head spots. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : In dead or decaying tree, 

 15 to 60, usually 40, feet from ground. Eggs: 4 to 7, 

 white. 



Distribution. — Eastern North America, breeding 

 from northern Missouri, northern Indiana, northern 

 Ohio, Massachusetts, etc., north to Mackenzie, central 

 Keewatin, central Quebec, and Cape Breton Island, west 

 to Alberta and southward on Allegheny Mountains to 

 North Carolina ; wintering from Pennsylvania, Ohio 

 valley, etc., southward (occasionally farther north- 

 ward) ; migrating southward over greater part of 

 Me.xico and Central America ; also in winter to the 

 Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and the Bermudas ; accidental 

 in Greenland and casual in eastern Wyoming and 

 eastern Colorado. 



The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and its western 

 variant, the Red-naped Sapsucker {Sphyrapicus 

 varius nuchalis), are the most migratory of all 

 the Woodpeckers. During migration the male 

 birds precede the females. At this period the 

 Sapsucker apparently cares little for insects and 

 he shows that trait of his character which has 

 given him his name by boring numerous rows of 

 holes through the bark of sap trees. Sometimes 

 these holes are merely single punctures but more 

 often a number of ptmctures are made close 

 together so that squarish spaces are formed 

 nearly half an inch in diameter. Frequently 

 these are placed so near together that their area 

 is greater than that of the remaining bark. Trees 

 thus attacked often die. At this time too, is 

 often heard the bird's snarling and squealing note 

 as he chases his rivals away from the tree which 

 he has selected. 



The Downy Woodpecker is often charged with 

 the wrong-doing of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker ; 

 but the truth of the matter is that Downy never 

 makes holes deep enough to draw out the sap, 

 and he doesn't in any way injure the tree. 



In the breeding range of the Sapsucker it is 

 an ordinary occurrence for campers to be 

 awakened at break of day by the noise he makes 

 drumming on some dry branch or on some hard 

 dry strip of bark which has a hollow space under- 

 neath it. To produce this sound of drumming 

 he braces himself with tail and feet, and stretch- 

 ing backward as far as he can, lets fly his head 

 and neck with all the force of the contracted 

 muscle; this is done so rapidly that his head is 

 practically invisible. This drumming often serves 

 the purpose of a love-song in the mating season. 



The mature female Sapsuckers have scarlet 

 crowns, but the young females have black ones 

 and apparently they do not receive their scarlet 

 feathers until after the second summer. 



The tongue of the Sapsucker differs from 

 those of the majority of W^oodpeckers ; it cannot 

 be pushed out as far and the end is brush-like, 

 lacking the sharp points, and is used to sweep 

 in the sap. 



Dr. Merriam calls the Sapsuckers " noisy, 

 rollicking fellows " ; he was speaking of them in 

 the spring of the year when it is more than 



