Red-naped Sapsucker

Taxobox
name = Red-naped Sapsucker
status = LC
status_system = iucn3.1
status_ref =


regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Piciformes
familia = Picidae
genus = "Sphyrapicus"
species = "S. nuchalis"
binomial = "Sphyrapicus nuchalis"
binomial_authority = Baird, 1858

The Red-naped Sapsucker ("Sphyrapicus nuchalis") is a medium-sized woodpecker.

Habitat

Their breeding habitat is mixed forests in the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin areas of North America. They nest in a cavity in a dead tree. Other species which nest in tree cavities reuse nests formerly used by these birds.

Description

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. They have a yellow breast and upper belly. They are black on the back and wings with white bars; they have a large white wing patch. Adult males have a red throat patch; for females, the lower part of the throat is red, the upper part is white.

These birds migrate south and vacate areas at higher elevations.

True to their name, and like other sapsuckers, they drill holes in trees and eat the sap as well as insects attracted to it. They sometimes catch insects in flight; they also eat seeds and berries.

This bird used to be considered a subspecies of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

External links

* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i4021id.html - USGS: Red-naped Sapsucker]
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Red-naped_Sapsucker.html - Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Red-naped Sapsucker]
* [http://sdakotabirds.com/species/red_naped_sapsucker_info.htm - South Dakota Birds - Red-naped Sapsucker]
* [http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?allSpecies=y&searchText=red-naped%20sapsucker&curGroupID=1&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=1 - eNature.com: Red-naped Sapsucker]
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=red-naped+sapsucker&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Red-naped Sapsucker photo gallery] VIREO
* [http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/newmex/sanandres/photoshop%20gallery/Birds/images/Red-naped%20Sapsucker%20-%20Sphyrapicus%20nuchalis.jpgPhoto-High Res--(Close-up)] ; [http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/newmex/sanandres/photoshop%20gallery/Birds/pages/Red-naped%20Sapsucker%20-%20Sphyrapicus%20nuchalis.htm Article] – www.fws.gov

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