Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker known for its unique feeding habit of drilling neat rows of holes in tree bark. Adults have a red forehead (and throat in males), a black-and-white patterned body, and a distinctive long white wing patch that is visible even when the bird is perched.

Bold, high-contrast black and white horizontal barring. The black is deep and melanistic; the white bars are clean and distinct. This 'ladder-back' pattern is diagnostic of several woodpecker species.

Tightly interlocked pennaceous barbs throughout most of the vane; plumulaceous (downy) barbs at the very base for insulation.

Stiff and smooth with a slight gloss on the black bars. The feather is engineered for the high-stress environment of flight and drumming.

Sharp black-and-white horizontal barring, small size, and a dark rachis. This specific 'zebra stripe' pattern on flight feathers is a hallmark of the sapsucker genus.

Mixed coniferous and deciduous forests, especially areas with young trees or birch, aspen, and maple which are preferred for sapwells.

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

A keystone species; they create food sources (sap) and nesting cavities used by dozens of other species of birds and mammals.

Hairy Woodpecker (larger, different barring spacing), Downy Woodpecker (smaller, fewer bars), and Northern Flicker (which has yellow or red shafts).

The sapwells they drill are vital for other wildlife; hummingbirds, for example, often follow sapsuckers to feed on the sap and the insects attracted to it.

Very good condition. The barbs are intact and zipped together; there is little evidence of wear or sun-bleaching, suggesting it was molted recently.