Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The yellow-bellied sapsucker has a wingspan that ranges from 34 to 40 centimetres (13 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 15 + 3 ⁄ 4 in). [10] The forehead is coloured bright red in the male (and very occasionally yellow), and a lighter shade of red in the female.
Holes left by a sapsucker As their name implies, sapsuckers feed primarily on the sap of trees , moving among different tree and shrub species on a seasonal basis. Insects , especially those attracted to the sweet sap exuding from sap holes, are often captured and fed to the young during the breeding season.
The female is completely different in appearance: mainly black, with a pale yellow breast, a brownish head with black streaking and fine barring on the back, breast and sides. Originally, the female was considered to be a different species and named the black-breasted woodpecker by Cassin.
The female lays between 2 and 7 eggs, which are plain white. The eggs are incubated by both sexes, but the nesting period and other details are unknown. Like most other woodpeckers the ladder-backed woodpecker bores into tree-trunks with its chisel-like bill to hunt for insects and their larva, but it also feeds on fruit produced by cacti.
There was a brown bird nibbling at the wild bird seed with a bright red head, she told McClatchy News in an interview. The only problem was its size. It was much too small to be a woodpecker.
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]
The reddish tinge on the belly that gives the bird its name is difficult to see in field identification. [7] White patches become visible on the wings in flight. [8] Red-bellied woodpeckers are 22.85 to 26.7 cm (9.00 to 10.51 in) long, have a wingspan of 38 to 46 cm (15 to 18 in), [7] and weigh 2.0–3.2 oz (57–91 g). [9]
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.