Sketch and story by Tom Godin,
July, 2001

How long have you been going about hiding your lack of knowledge of our local Sapsuckers? Too long? Well, let's take some steps to remedy that right now.

A few years ago I decided to investigate some bird species in which I had previously taken little interest so I kept a journal that I called 'my 1997 bird education'. One bird species I had little knowledge of was the Sapsucker and in order to spur my curiosity I posed some questions about this group of woodpeckers.

Could we expect to see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in our area? How many species of Sapsuckers can be found in the South Cariboo? What were the differences between a Red-naped Sapsucker and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker? Do we have Red-breasted Sapsuckers here?

Here are my findings. Let's subtitle the information 'More than you wanted to know about Sapsuckers'.

Four species of Sapsuckers are found in B.C; the Red-naped, Red-breasted, Yellow-bellied and Williamson's Sapsucker. Technically, only the Williamson's might be considered a true species separate from the rest. The other three are closely related and interbreeding is not uncommon.

As for the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker being in the South Cariboo, there has never been a documented sighting of one. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are found east of the Rocky Mountains. The northeast corner of BC, being east of the Rockies, is the only place in the province where Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers might be considered common.

The only two Sapsuckers found in the South Cariboo are the Red-naped and the Red-breasted. The Red-breasted Sapsucker is not as common as the former being more numerous in coastal areas and to the north of us. The Williamson's Sapsucker is found in the extreme southwest corner of BC.

Despite the unlikely occurrence of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the South Cariboo I wanted to know how to tell it from the Red-naped. The key difference between the males is the way in which their red throat areas are demarcated. On the Red-naped, there is no black outlining the red of the throat from the corners of the mouth down the neck. The Yellow-bellied's red throat patch is totally outlined in black.

The females are very similar. The Red-naped female usually has a red throat that may show a little white. The female Yellow-bellied has a white throat.

Other than these features, finding definite distinguishing characteristics by which to separate these two Sapsuckers is challenging. For instance, most Red-naped Sapsuckers have some red in the nape area, which is the back of the head. Unfortunately not all do. The nape of the Yellow-bellied is usually white, but may be red. Both Red-naped and Yellow-bellied have some yellow on the belly. The general rule is that there is more red and less white on the Red-naped and more white and less red on the Yellow-bellied. Traits this interchangeable could hardly be called exclusive to either of the two subspecies and differentiating between these Sapsucker types is difficult.

The Red-breasted Sapsucker, thankfully, looks quite distinct from other Sapsuckers and doesn't resemble any other species of local woodpecker. I have been able to watch a Red-breasted Sapsucker this summer in a location on Bridge Creek about ten miles east of 100 Mile House. Until this sighting, the last time I saw a Red-breasted Sapsucker was 20 years ago at Bowron Lake. The Red-breasted subspecies has an all red head and red down the throat area and the upper chest. There is a little black around the eyes and a little white around the 'nose guard' feathers but generally it is a Woodpecker with a red head, not to be confused with the species Red-headed Woodpecker which is an entirely different bird.

Sapsuckers, as the family name implies are drinkers of sap. These woodpeckers drill small rectangular holes through the layer of bark in the trunks or limbs of trees. A series of these holes is created completely around the limb and as the sap rises it spill from these openings. The Sapsucker has several trees tapped at once and goes from tree to tree drinking the sweet sap and eating the insects that are attracted to these wells.

I must comment that Sapsuckers, despite what their name might imply, don't suck. Very few birds can create suction with their mouths. Even Hummingbirds don't use their beaks like straws. Sapsuckers and Hummingbirds drink by putting their tongue into a liquid and bringing it back into the mouth. The action they are employing is closer to lapping than sipping, or sucking.

A connection has been made to the arrival of the Sapsuckers in the north and the appearance of the Hummingbirds close on its heels. The thinking is that the Sapsuckers created the original hummingbird feeders with their penchant for sap tapping and thus allowed Hummingbirds a source of food when they arrived.

The Sapsuckers favourite types of trees to tap are the deciduous ones. Willow and birch are their favourite native trees, but they will gladly branch out to drink from any ornamental or fruit tree that gets planted in the neighbourhood. Sapsuckers also catch a lot of insects on the wing, a rather flycatcher approach to dining.

Sapsuckers are great cavity nest creators and each year at nesting time they drill holes into living trees. I have found several Red-naped Sapsucker nests this year and they are all in aspen trees. One nest is about ten feet from the ground, another thirty feet up. For reasons known only to birds, Sapsuckers rarely use the nest hole they created last year. This habit creates a lot of new cavity nests for other birds that are incapable of creating their own nest holes. Tree Swallows, Chickadees, Nuthatches, and even Flying Squirrels have the Sapsucker to thank for the many vacant cavities in the forest.

Down by the creek I have come upon a number of Sapsuckers drumming out their tattoos on particularly resonant dead tree limbs. This drumming on noisy limbs is the Sapsuckers, as well as many other woodpeckers, way of calling a mate or declaring their claim on a surrounding area.

One old stub of a pine was the site of a 'drum off'. As I stood watching the first Sapsucker pounded out its rat-a-tat. This attracted another who flew at the first and ousted him. He then hammered away. Soon a third joined, which seemed to upset all three and they forgot the drumming and started chasing each other through the trees.

It is possible to distinguish the drumming made by a Sapsucker from the sound made by other species of woodpeckers by the noticeable slowing of the rat-a-tat noise at the end.

Among the three sapsuckers I watched drumming was a very dark form. This particular bird had an all black head except for the top which was red as well as the throat area. The face had none of the usual white and black lines I associate with typical Red-naped Sapsucker colouration. The back was very dark with a few grey marks. This sent me back to the bird books but I was unable to find any reference to such a bird. It looked as if a Williamson's Sapsucker was blended with a Red-naped but this bird favoured neither of them in any complete way. I decided that it was a Red-naped with heavy leanings toward a Williamson's. The book says there is interbreeding but mostly between the Red-naped, Red-breasted, and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.

So let's do a quick review. We can expect to see the Red-naped and the Red-breasted Sapsucker in the South Cariboo. The Yellow-bellied or Williamson's is highly unlikely. The best way to tell a Red-naped from a Yellow-bellied is to look at the throat area. The Yellow-bellied's red throat patch is completely surrounded by black. The Red-naped is not. Oh, I should mention that all Sapsuckers migrate out of our area in fall and don't return again until the spring. They spend the winter in places like southern Arizona, Texas and Mexico.

Well, there you go. You may now step confidently into the next conversation you hear about Sapsuckers without the slightest fear of being unarmed. It's a great feeling to shine a feeble light into the dark corners of our minds, even if only to reveal a medium sized woodpecker, busily lapping sap and rat-a-tatting on some dead wood it found there.