Red-breasted Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus ruber

Order PICIFORMES - Family PICIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

The Red-breasted Sapsucker is a denizen of the coniferous forests of the northern Pacific Coast, usually found at middle or lower elevations.

Cool Facts

• The Red-breasted Sapsucker has two subspecies. The northern form, resident from Alaska to Oregon, is redder on the head and has less white on the back. The southern form, found in California, often shows the black and white face striping of the other sapsucker species, but all the facial feathers are tipped in red.

• Hummingbirds of several species make use of sapsucker feeding holes and come to rely on them. The Rufous Hummingbird is closely associated with the Red-breasted Sapsucker. It nests near sap wells and may follow the woodpecker around during the day, feeding at the wells the sapsucker keeps flowing.

Description

• Size: 20-22 cm (8-9 in)
• Wingspan: 37-40 cm (15-16 in)
• Weight: 39-68 g (1.38-2.4 ounces)

• Medium-sized woodpecker.
• Red head and breast.
• White stripe running up side.

• Entire head red, except for black spot in front of eyes and white line from nostril onto face.
• Back black with variable amount of white or yellow spots.
• Belly yellowish.
• Wings black with some white spotting.
• Tail barred black and white in middle and outermost feathers, black on sides.
• Eyes black.
• Feet blackish.
• Bill blackish.
• Rump white.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Juvenile similar, but head all dark brown.

Similar Species

• Sapsuckers are the only woodpeckers to have the vertical white stripe on the side.
• Red-headed Woodpecker does not occur in same area, but has large white patch across base of wings.
• Some Red-breasted Sapsuckers show black and white face pattern similar to Red-naped Sapsucker, but the red-breast will have red on tips of its feathers and less white on its back.
• Female and juvenile Williamson's Sapsucker have pale brown heads that are paler than body, not darker like a juvenile Red-breasted Sapsucker.

Sound

Call a harsh mewing "waah." Drumming a distinctive slow irregular tapping, easily imitated by tapping on a tree with a stick.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from southern Alaska to central California, eastward to eastern British Columbia and eastern California.

Winter Range

Winters from southern British Columbia to Baja Mexico.

Habitat

• Breeds primarily in coniferous forests, but also uses deciduous and riparian habitat, as well as orchards and power line cuts.
• Winters in a variety of forested habitats.

Food

Sap, fruit, arthropods.

Behavior

Foraging

Forages for insects by gleaning, probing, prying, tapping, and flycatching. Drills series of shallow holes in bark of tree, licks up sap.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest in cavity in dead tree or dead branch. No nest material added to cavity.

Egg Description

White.

Clutch Size

4-7 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Naked and helpless.

Conservation Status

Historically shot as an orchard pest; protected now. Populations appear stable, but forestry practices that remove snags may decrease its abundance in particular areas.

Other Names

Pic à poitrine rouge (French)
Chupasavia pechirroja (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Walters, E. L., E. H. Miller, and P. E. Lowther. 2002. Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) and Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis). In The Birds of North America, No. 662 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.