Red-breasted Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus ruber

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Sphyrapicus

Audio for Species

Call
Song

from Macaulay Library

Species Related Links

Additional Sapsucker Pictures

Description

Length: 7.9-8.7 in (20-22 cm) Weight: 1.4-2.4 oz (39-68 g) Wingspan: 14.6-15.7 in (37-40 cm)

A medium size woodpecker. A red head and breast, It has a white mustache and a mottled white stripe on the wings, and spotted white stripes on a black back. The juvenile has an all dark brown head.

Habitat, Range, and Feeding

The winter range is from coastal and southwest British Columbia south through California, west of the deserts to northwest Baja California. Living at elevations of near sea level to about 9,842 feet (3000 m) for winter, and near the same elevation for breeding (2,900 m). Summers from southeast Alaska, and northwest British Columbia south to the mountain areas of southern California.

They will nest in a cavity in dead trees or dead branch; breeding in conifer forests primarilly, but will use deciduous and riparian habitats. Clutch size: 4-7 eggs, with white shells.
They sip tree sap, and eat fruits, seeds, bast fiber and insects.