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Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Status Fairly common summer resident. Breeds. Distributed throughout woodlands, arriving in April (average 22 April, earliest 4 April). The peak of fall movement is generally late September and it is seldom seen after mid-October (average 12 October, latest 28 October). One at Centreville, Shelburne County, on 21 December 1970 (W. Smith) was late, and one taking suet at the feeder of Eunice Stevenson at Sheffield Mills, Kings County, on 10 January 1969 is our only true winter record.

Description Length: 20-22 cm. Adult male: Forehead and crown scarlet, bordered with black; nape white; back black, barred with white; tail black, centrally barred with white; white line extending back from above eye separates crown from broad black stripe extending from eye down neck and along sides of back; white line beginning at base of upper mandible runs down sides of neck to breast; throat scarlet, bordered with black; sides of belly marked with blackish gray; belly pale yellow; upperwing with conspicuous white patch along coverts. Adult female: Similar but throat white; crown usually scarlet, rarely black

Breeding Nest: An excavation in a tree, usually a live poplar, about 3-10 m from the ground, in woodland areas. It is unlined, the eggs being laid on bare chips. Eggs: 4-6; glossy white. Excavating starts about the middle of May and egg laying begins during the second half of the month. A nest containing four fresh eggs was found 28 May 1905 about 3 m up in a live poplar at Black River, Kings County, and on 15 June 1916, another in the same area, also in a live poplar, contained five partially incubated eggs. On 17 May 1919, birds were seen excavating in three localities at Albany, Annapolis County; one of these nests, visited on 6 June, contained one runt egg. On 12 June it contained six fresh eggs, two of which were runts.

Range Breeds from southeastern Alaska, Yukon Territory, the southern Mackenzie Valley, southern Quebec, and Newfoundland, south to the northern United States and, in the mountains, to California. Winters from southern British Columbia and central United States to Central America and the West Indies.

Remarks The name "sapsucker" is appropriate for this bird because it habitually drills holes in the bark of trees, causing sap to run. It appears to gain a measure of sustenance from the sap and is said to over-indulge in it at times to the extent of becoming groggy. It also eats insects attracted to the sap. Excessive drilling operations sometimes cause a tree, or parts of it, to die. Whether these birds have any preference in trees is not known, but maple, wild apple, birch, poplar and alder are most frequently pock-marked.

The sound woodpeckers produce by tapping rapidly on dead branches is called "drumming" and is believed to be a method of communication with others of their kind. According to Charles R.K. Allen, the sound produced by sapsuckers is distinctive because the long "roll" ends with two or three more widely spaced blows. One of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker's calls is similar to the mewing note of a catbird and can easily be mistaken for it.

Although similar in size to other woodpeckers, its distinctive colour pattern should preclude its being confused with them.