The Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Description: A stocky woodpecker that is mostly black and white, patterned with a large white stripe along the folded wing; white or yellowish belly; males have black bibs with a deep red forehead and throat (females lack the red throats); chisel-shaped bill and a distinctive undulating flight pattern.

When: Winters in Louisiana, arriving around late September and leaving around mid-April.

Where: All wooded areas in Louisiana. 

Breeding: Sapsuckers breed in the northeastern United States, Canada and eastern Alaska. In spring, courtship behavior involves one sapsucker chasing the other around the tree trunk and branches. Both sexes excavate the cavity in a live or dead tree; the nest is lined with wood chips; eggs are solid white.

Feeding: Feed on sap derived from drilling holes or ‘sap wells’ in tree bark, hence the name; sapsuckers make two kinds of holes in trees to harvest sap: round holes that extend deep in the tree and are not enlarged, and rectangular holes which are shallower and maintained continually for sap to flow; they also eat insects attracted to this sap and dine on berries.   

Interesting facts: Most birds have three toes in the front and one in the back. The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, like most woodpeckers, has two toes in the front and two in the back (yoke-toed) which allows them to climb trees vertically. Their stiffened tail feathers also help propel the woodpecker up and down the tree trunk. Sapsuckers’ tongues are long, sticky, and have tiny barbs on the end. This is helpful when inserted into tree crevices or sap wells to dig out insects. These sap wells are usually made in parallel rows on a tree. Other birds, especially hummingbirds, will drink oozing sap. Mammals such as bats, squirrels, and chipmunks have also been known to visit the sap wells.

Sapsuckers have skulls that are extremely hard and rigid that enable them to beat or drill on wooden surfaces. They make this noise for different reasons: cavity excavation (nest sites), foraging (sap wells) and drumming. Sapsuckers communicate by drumming, either to attract a mate or to define a territory. Drumming is usually done on hollow branches or tree trunks (space shuttle insulation, stove pipes, and rain gutters have also been used), something with good acoustics to communicate over long distances. Drumming is fast and done by both the male and female. Sapsuckers can often be identified by their irregular rhythm of drumming.  

I had always been intrigued with the name ‘Yellow-bellied Sapsucker’ and was delighted to finally see one years ago. Much later, it occurred to me that I had first heard the name watching The Beverly Hillbillies. The character Jane Hathaway was an unlikely bird watcher, dressed in fashionable banking clothes with binoculars around her neck. She and an ornithologist (looking quite the nerd) were in hot pursuit of the sapsuckers around the grounds of mansions. I doubt sapsuckers have ever been seen in Beverly Hills. It is not part of their range—but it did make a good story!

December starts the 113th Christmas Bird Count season. These bird counts are done by volunteers/citizen scientists to collect information on bird population trends for the National Audubon Society. The count period is December 14, 2012 through January 5, 2013 across the country. There are many counts held in Louisiana. The Baton Rouge count is always the last and will be January 5, 2013. If you would like to participate, and they do need people to write down sightings, please visit braudubon.org. Questions? Email Harriett.pooler@gmail.com.