Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

This is a rectrix from a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a medium-sized woodpecker known for drilling neat rows of holes in tree bark. The bird features a red cap, white wing patches, and a yellowish wash on the belly. Its tail feathers are specially adapted with stiff shafts to act as a tripod leg while the bird works on a trunk.

Distinctive high-contrast pattern consisting of a deep brownish-black or dark charcoal base with prominent white horizontal bars/spots along both vanes. The tip is edged with a thin white margin.

Tightly interlocked pennaceous barbs throughout most of the vane to provide rigidity. The barbules are strong and well-connected. Some plumulaceous (downy) structure is visible at the very base (calamus area).

Smooth, firm, and glossy. The surface feels somewhat rigid or springy due to its specialized function as a support structure during climbing.

Bold white barring on a dark blackish-brown ground; stiff, reinforced rachis; pointed/blunted tip for climbing support; size fits a medium woodpecker.

Deciduous and mixed coniferous forests; particularly fond of young forests and edges where their preferred sap trees (birch, maple) are abundant.

Breeds across Canada and the northeastern United States; migrates to the southeastern US, Mexico, and Central America for the winter.

Primary cavity nester and sap-producer. They create habitats for other cavity-nesting birds and provide a consistent sugar source for the local ecosystem.

Downy Woodpecker feathers are smaller and usually have more white on the outer rectrices; Hairy Woodpeckers have larger feathers with similar patterns but often less dense barring on the central pairs.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are 'keystone' species; the sap wells they drill provide food for over 35 other species, including hummingbirds and butterflies.

Good condition. There is minor fraying at the tip and edges, consistent with a feather used for mechanical support against rough bark before being molted.