Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Birds of North America · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. The sapsucker drills neat rows of little holes in tree bark, then comes back to drink the sweet sap that flows out.
2. Parents feed their chicks insects, and sometimes dip them in tree sap first.
3. Begging chicks can be heard 100 m away or more. The hungriest one usually calls first, so it gets fed first.
4. To send messages far away, it drums on dead trees that ring out loudly, in bursts of one and a half to five seconds.
5. Pairs court with a little dance: they bob their heads, half-open their wings again and again, and touch bills.

The quiz

1. What does the sapsucker drill holes in trees for?

• To store acorns
• To feed on the sap (correct)
• To lay its eggs inside
• To sharpen its bill

It drills columns of feeding holes and drinks the sap.

2. What do sapsucker parents sometimes coat insects in before feeding chicks?

• Mud
• Water
• Tree sap (correct)
• Flower pollen

Insects are occasionally coated in sap before the chick eats them.

3. Which sapsucker chick usually gets fed first?

• The smallest one
• The oldest one
• The quietest one
• The hungriest one (correct)

The hungriest chick does the begging, so it is fed first.

4. What kind of trees does the sapsucker choose for drumming?

• Dead trees (correct)
• Its feeding trees
• Its nest tree
• Young saplings

It drums on dead trees, not the ones it feeds or nests in.

5. Which of these is part of the sapsucker pair's courtship?

• Touching bills together (correct)
• Building a mud tower
• Swapping feathers
• Singing duets at night

Pairs touch their bills together as part of courtship.

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