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The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is the most common of the Algonquin Highland’s woodpeckers. They are mottled with black and off-white. Males have a red crown and throat, while females have only a red crown. Both are a dull yellow below. Immature birds are dull brown. A distinctive white wing stripe is visible to all plumages, and is visible in both rest and flight.
Their unusual feeding method is an important factor in the changing forest. After returning from migration in mid-April, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker will drill rows of holes in the inner barks of trees. They will later return to the trees and wipe or suck the sap with their brush-like tongues. They also consume the insects attracted by the sap. Too many holes in a tree causes the upper portion of the tree to die. The holes also provide points of entry to wood-rotting fungi, weakening the tree and causing premature death. This creates a changing forest.
Shy and mainly silent birds, they occasionally producing squeaks and whines. Laying 5 or 6 white eggs, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker excavates a cavity in a tree for its nest.
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YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
Sphyrapicus varius
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