Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Bird Graphic

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker -
(Sphyrapicus varius)

Audio

Identification

Medium-sized woodpecker
Black and white on back, lighter below
Wings dark with large white patch
Varying yellowish color on breast
and upper belly
Thick black eyeline with white stripe
above and below
Male has red crown and throat
Female lacks red on throat
8.5" (22 cm.)

Habitat

Deciduous and mixed forests

Additional Information

Fairly common migrant and summer resident
Occasionally found in winter
Tapping has a rhythmic rat-a-tat sound
Gives a cat-like call
Creates small shallow horizontal rows
     of holes in trees for "sap wells",
     which are used by other species,
     including hummingbirds

Comparable Species

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker standing on a rock

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on pine tree next to sap wells

The Kickapoo Reserve Management Board acknowledges that the state and federal lands that comprise the Reserve fall within the ancestral homelands of First Nations people including the Hoocąk Nation. We recognize the sovereignty of the Hoocąk and other First Nations and will work towards a shared future by continuing to create collaborative opportunities to protect and preserve these lands.

Kickapoo Valley Reserve | S3661 State Road 131 | La Farge, Wisconsin 54639
Phone: 608-625-2960

kickapoo.reserve@krm.state.wi.us

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