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The genus Sphyrapicus was introduced in 1858 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird with the yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) as the type species. [2] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek sphura meaning "hammer" and pikos meaning "woodpecker". [3]
The yellow-bellied sapsucker has a length of around 19 to 21 centimetres (7 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 8 + 1 ⁄ 4 in), and an average weight of 50.3 grams (1.77 oz), although this can range anywhere from 35 to 62 grams (1.2 to 2.2 oz). The yellow-bellied sapsucker has a wingspan that ranges from 34 to 40 centimetres (13 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 15 + 3 ⁄ 4 in). [10]
A sapsucker's tongue is adapted with stiff hairs for collecting sap. Red-breasted sapsuckers visit the same tree multiple times, drilling holes in neat horizontal rows. A bird will leave and come back later, when the sap has started flowing from the holes. Repeated visits over an extended period of time can actually kill the tree. [9]
Birds of Olympic National Park: Bald eagle, Western gull, Red-breasted sapsucker, Woodpecker, Belted kingfisher, Steller’s and Gray jay, Blue grouse, Peregrine falcon and Northern pygmy owl.
The red-naped sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker, [11] measuring 19–21 cm (7.5–8.3 in) long and weighing 32–66 g (1.1–2.3 oz). [12] Adults have a black head with a red forehead, white stripes, and a red spot on the nape; they have a white lower belly and rump.
A male great spotted woodpecker. ... Yellow-bellied sapsucker: Sphyrapicus varius (Linnaeus, 1766) 59 Red-naped sapsucker: Sphyrapicus nuchalis Baird, SF, 1858: 60
Like other woodpeckers, insects form a large part of the diet, being caught on the wing in some species, but fruit is also eaten in large quantities and some species consume sap. They all nest in holes that they excavate in trees, and the red-crowned woodpecker and the Hoffmann's woodpecker are unusual in that they sometimes enter their holes ...
Woodpeckers tend to be sexually dimorphic, but differences between the sexes are generally small; exceptions to this are Williamson's sapsucker and the orange-backed woodpecker, which differ markedly. The plumage is moulted fully once a year apart from the wrynecks, which have an additional partial moult before breeding. [8]