| Sapsuckers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Red-breasted sapsucker | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Picidae |
| Tribe: | Melanerpini |
| Genus: | Sphyrapicus S.F. Baird, 1858 |
| Type species | |
| Pica varius [1] Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Species | |
Sphyrapicus varius Contents | |
The sapsuckers are species of North American woodpeckers in the genus Sphyrapicus.
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 genus is sister to the genus Melanerpes ; both genera are members of the tribe Melanerpini in the woodpecker subfamily Picinae. [4]
There are four currently recognized species in the genus: [5]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | S. nuchalis | Red-naped sapsucker | the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin areas of North America |
 | S. ruber | Red-breasted sapsucker | southeast Alaska and British Columbia south through the Pacific Coast Ranges of western Washington and Oregon and northern California |
 | S. thyroideus | Williamson's sapsucker | western North America from northern Mexico as far north as British Columbia |
 | S. varius | Yellow-bellied sapsucker | Canada, eastern Alaska and the northeastern United States |
The members of this genus are slender birds with stiff tails and relatively long wings. Their typical pattern in flight is undulating, alternating between quick bursts of wing beats and short dips with wings tucked against the body.
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 most easily recognized sap holes are found in birch trees during the breeding season.
Because sapsuckers attack living trees, they are often considered a pest species. [6] Intensive feeding by sapsuckers is a cause of severe tree damage and mortality, with certain tree species more adversely affected by feeding than others. A USDA Forest Service study found that 67 percent of gray birch ( Betula populifolia ) trees damaged by yellow-bellied sapsuckers later died of their injuries. [7] This compares to a mortality of 51 percent for paper birch ( Betula papyrifera ), 40 percent for red maple ( Acer rubrum ), 3 percent for red spruce ( Picea rubens ), and 1 percent for hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis ). [7]
The great spotted woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found across the Palearctic including parts of North Africa. Across most of its range it is resident, but in the north some will migrate if the conifer cone crop fails. Some individuals have a tendency to wander, leading to the recolonisation of Ireland in the first decade of the 21st century and to vagrancy to North America. Great spotted woodpeckers chisel into trees to find food or excavate nest holes, and also drum for contact and territorial advertisement; like other woodpeckers, they have anatomical adaptations to manage the physical stresses from the hammering action. This species is similar to the Syrian woodpecker.
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known that live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts, and the Gila woodpecker specialises in exploiting cacti.
The black woodpecker is a large woodpecker that lives in mature forests across the northern Palearctic. It is the sole representative of its genus in that region. Its range is expanding. The black woodpecker is easily the largest woodpecker species in Europe as well as in the portion of Asia where it lives and is one of the largest species worldwide. This non-migratory species tends to make its home in old-growth forest or large forest stands and excavates a large tree hole to reside in. In turn, several species rely on black woodpeckers to secondarily reside in the holes made in trees by them. This woodpeckers diet consists mostly of carpenter ants. This species is closely related to, and fills the same ecological niche in Europe as, the pileated woodpecker of North America and the lineated woodpecker of South America, also being similar to the white-bellied woodpecker which is distributed to the south somewhat of the black woodpecker in Asia.
The pileated woodpecker is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Coast. It is the largest confirmed extant woodpecker species in North America, with the possible exception of the ivory-billed woodpecker, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed be reclassified as extinct. It is also the third largest species of woodpecker in the world, after the great slaty woodpecker and the black woodpecker. "Pileated" refers to the bird's prominent red crest, from the Latin pileatus meaning "capped".
The yellow-bellied sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker that breeds in Canada and the northeastern United States.
The black-backed woodpecker, also known as the Arctic three-toed woodpecker, is a medium-sized woodpecker inhabiting the forests of North America.
The acorn woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker, 21 cm (8.3 in) long, with an average weight of 85 g (3.0 oz).
The red-bellied woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker of the family Picidae. It breeds mainly in the eastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far north as Canada. Though it has a vivid orange-red crown and nape it is not to be confused with the red-headed woodpecker, a separate species of woodpecker in the same genus with an entirely red head and neck that sports a solid black back and white belly. The red-bellied earns its name from the pale reddish blush of its lower underside.
The red-breasted sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker of the forests of the west coast of North America.
The red-naped sapsucker is a medium-sized North American woodpecker. Long thought to be a subspecies of the yellow-bellied sapsucker, it is now known to be a distinct species.
The middle spotted woodpecker is a European woodpecker belonging to the genus Dendrocoptes.
Betula papyrifera is a short-lived species of birch native to northern North America. Paper birch is named after the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper-like layers from the trunk. Paper birch is often one of the first species to colonize a burned area within the northern latitudes, and is an important species for moose browsing. Primary commercial uses for paper birch wood are as boltwood and sawlogs, while secondary products include firewood and pulpwood. It is the provincial tree of Saskatchewan and the state tree of New Hampshire.
Betula alleghaniensis, the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the past its scientific name was Betula lutea.
Nuttall's woodpecker is a species of woodpecker named after naturalist Thomas Nuttall in 1843. They are found in oak woodlands of California and are similar to the ladder-backed woodpecker in both genetics and appearance.
Melanerpes is a genus of woodpeckers of the family Picidae found in the New World. The 24 members of the genus are mostly colourful birds, conspicuously barred in black and white, with some red and yellow.
Williamson's sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker belonging to the genus Sphyrapicus (sapsuckers).
Gleaning is a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is contrasted with hawking insects from the air or chasing after moving insects such as ants. Gleaning, in birds, does not refer to foraging for seeds or fruit.
The rufous-bellied woodpecker or rufous-bellied sapsucker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. This woodpecker has a habit of making a series of small pits on the bark of trees leading to its being considered an Asiatic member of the sapsuckers in the past. It is found along the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, ranging across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Manchuria, Ussuriland and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The ashy woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Sulawesi and surrounding islands in Indonesia. There are two subspecies, the nominate race M. f. fulvus, which is found in northern Sulawesi, the islands of Lembeh and Manterawu, and the archipelagos of Togian and Banggai; and M. f. wallacei, from southern Sulawesi and the islands of Muna and Buton. The second subspecies is named for the collector and scientist Alfred Russel Wallace.
The Cuban green woodpecker is a species of woodpecker in the family Picidae and tribe Melanerpini, known locally in Cuban Spanish as carpintero verde. It is the only species within the genus Xiphidiopicus and is one of two woodpeckers endemic to Cuba. It is the most widespread and common woodpecker in Cuba, inhabiting primarily woodlands, as well as dry and wet forests, pine forests and mangroves. The population of the Cuban green woodpecker is stable and its status is listed as "Least Concern".
