Sphyrapicus varius

You may have noticed tree trunks in your neighborhood riddled with small holes, neatly arranged in rows. (The trees look like a crazed carpenter attacked them.) Not to worry, these are the distinctive feeding holes of a winter resident common to much of North Carolina, the yellow-bellied sapsucker. Unlike most woodpeckers, which feed primarily on insects, sapsuckers have a special tongue with brushy hairs on the tip for taking up sap. The male of the species has a red head, black and white coloring, and a yellow underside.

Hummingbirds connected to woodpeckers? Strange but true. Male ruby-throated hummingbirds arrive in North Carolina in late March to set up their territories. Few flowers are in bloom then, so finding food is a challenge. Also at this time, yellow-bellied sapsuckers are drilling sap wells in trees for food. Hummingbirds sometimes raid these wells to eat the sap and insects attracted to it.

Cool Links:

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: The Master Sap Tapper - Bird of the Month from the National Zoo's Migratory Bird Center.

Appalachian Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - conservation status, survey map and links.

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