• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Local Navigation
  • Skip to Search
  • Skip to Sitemap
  • Skip to Footer

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus varius ORDER: PICIFORMES FAMILY: PICIDAE

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

  • Similar Species
  • Related Species
  • Go to:
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Photo

© Lang Elliott / CLO

Although most non-birders believe that the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a fictitious bird created just for the humorous name, in fact it is a widespread species of small woodpecker. Its habit of making shallow holes in trees to get sap is exploited by other bird species, and the sapsucker can be considered a "keystone" species, one whose existence is vital for the maintenance of a community.

Join the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Become a force for nature

Appearance

Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers
Typical Voice

Adult Description

  • Medium-sized woodpecker.
  • White stripe running up side.
  • Messy black and whitish barring on back.

Male Description

Throat and crown completely red.

Female Description

Throat white or with only a few red feathers. Crown usually red, but may be completely black or with a few red feathers.

Immature Description

Juvenile similar to adult, but head markings obscured because of paleness, with black replaced with brownish.

Range Map Help

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Range Map
View dynamic map of eBird sightings

Field MarksHelp

  • Male
    PopOutZoom In
    Male
    • © Lang Elliott / CLO
  • Female
    PopOutZoom In
    Female
    • © Lang Elliott / CLO
  • Juvenile
    PopOutZoom In
    Juvenile
    • © Marie Read
  • Female
    PopOutZoom In
    Female
    • Medium-sized woodpecker of East and Far North
    • White stripe along wing
    • Red forehead, black-and-white-striped face
    • Female has pale, not red, throat
    • © Raymond Belhumeur/PFW, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada, April 2009
  • Male
    PopOutZoom In
    Male
    • South of Pennsylvania, mainly seen only in winter
    • White stripe in wing, blurry barring on back
    • Strongly marked face; yellowish underparts
    • Male has red throat, red crown, black chest mark
    • © Cameron Rognan, Gaffney, South Carolina, December 2007

Similar Species

Similar Species

  • Sapsuckers are the only woodpeckers to have the vertical white stripe on the side.
  • Red-naped Sapsucker very similar, but has red spot in white stripe across the back of the head and less white on back. Red throat of male yellow-bellied is separated from the white by a black border, but in red-naped male the black border is missing or is incomplete. Female red-naped has red throat with a broad black border, but has white chin and red on nape.