Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 



Dean E, Biggins 



YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (Sphyrapicus varius) 



Sapsuckers drill rows of holes in trees and return later to collect the sap. 

 The yellow-bellied sapsucker shows a preference for aspen and birch in 

 Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Because these rows of holes are drilled at 

 a slightly upward angle, they act as miniature reservoirs. The cambium 

 underneath the bark is also a primary item in the diet of this species. 

 Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are one of the few woodpeckers that have more 

 vegetable matter than animal matter in their diet. In Yellowstone and 

 Grand Teton the yellow-bellied sapsucker occurs primarily in the aspen-fir 

 habitat complex, and it usually excavates its nest in a live aspen. The plum- 

 age of this species varies, but a narrow longitudinal white wing stripe is 

 very distinctive in both sexes. 



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