The red-naped sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis) is a medium-sized North American woodpecker. Long thought to be a subspecies of the yellow-bellied sapsucker, it is now known to be a distinct species.
Systematics
The red-naped sapsucker is one of four North American woodpeckers in the genus Sphyrapicus. The specific name nuchalis is a modern Latin word meaning "of the nape". In its common name, "red-naped", refers to the red patch on the back of the bird's head,
These birds migrate south and vacate areas at higher elevations.
Behavior
Feeding
thumb|right|Holes drilled by a red-naped sapsucker in Platanus wrightii in Arizona, US
True to their name, and like other sapsuckers, they drill holes in trees and eat the sap as well as insects attracted to it. They sometimes catch insects in flight; they also eat seeds and berries.
Breeding
Red-naped sapsuckers typically lay 3–7 white eggs.
Throughout western North America, red-naped sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis) nests have been described primarily in trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) with decay-softened wood. Heart-wood decay is reported to infect the roots of most aspens that red-naped sapsuckers choose to excavate for nesting. Red-naped sapsuckers typically excavate their first cavity relatively close to the ground and over subsequent years make progressively higher excavations. Most (68%) nest trees were live and 75% had broken tops. Western larch (Larix occidentalis) and birch were greatly over utilized compared to their availability.
References
Cited texts
External links
- Red-naped sapsucker - Sphyrapicus nuchalis - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Red-naped sapsucker Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Red-naped sapsucker at eNature.com
- Project Sapsucker Royal Alberta Museum