Scientific Name:   Sphyrapicus varius

Length:   7.1-8.7 in (18-22 cm)

Weight:   1.5-1.9 oz (43-55 g)

Wingspan:   13.4-15.8 in (34-40 cm)

Nest:   They choose many of the same tree species for nesting that they use for drilling wells, including aspen, birch, maple, beech, and elm. The male does most of the work excavating the cavity over about 2 to 3 weeks. No lining is placed within the nest; the eggs are laid on wood chips left over from the excavation. The entrance hole is small, only about 1.5 inches in diameter, but the cavity itself may be 10 inches deep.

Eggs:   5-6, sometimes 3-7. White. Incubation is by both sexes (with male incubating at night and part of day), 12-13 days.

Feeding Behavior:   Drills tiny holes in tree bark, usually in neatly spaced rows, and then returns to them periodically to feed on the sap that oozes out. Includes insects, tree sap, fruit. Feeds on a wide variety of insects, including many ants (taken from tree trunks). Also regularly feeds on tree sap, and on berries and fruits.

Young:   Both parents feed young, bringing them insects, sap, and fruit. Young leave nest 25-29 days after hatching.

Range:   Yellow-bellied sapsuckers breed in Canada, eastern Alaska, and the northeastern United States. They winter in the eastern United States, West Indies, and Central America. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is found across Canada, eastern Alaska and the northeastern United States. These birds winter in the eastern United States, West Indies and Central America. This species has occurred as a very rare vagrant to Ireland and Great Britain.

Brief Description:   The forehead is colored bright red in the male, and a lighter shade of red in the female. The crown is bordered black, and is usually red, and is sometimes mixed with black in the female. There is a white stripe, starting above the eye, that extends and widens to the nape, being broken up by a thin black line on the hindneck. There is a broad black stripe going through the ear-coverts and down to the side of the neck. Below this black stripe is a white stripe that goes from the nasal tufts to the side of the breast.