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Williamson's Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus thyroideus
At a Glance
A strikingly marked woodpecker of western mountains. May be found nesting in the same aspen groves as Red-naped or Red-breasted sapsuckers, but also occurs in pure coniferous forest. Quiet and inconspicuous at most times, although its staccato drumming and nasal mewing calls may be noticeable in spring. Males and females of this woodpecker look so different that they were first described to science as two separate species.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Tree-clinging Birds, Woodpeckers
Conservation
Low Concern
Habitat
Arroyos and Canyons, Forests and Woodlands, High Mountains
Region
California, Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Southwest, Texas, Western Canada
Behavior
Flap/Glide, Undulating
Population
300.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
Seems to migrate south along mountain ranges in fall, tending to winter at upper elevations, as far south as west-central Mexico. A few move to lowlands; has wandered as far east as Louisiana. Females may winter a little farther south than males, on average.
Description
9 1/2" (24 cm). Male and female strikingly different. Male mostly black, with white wing patch, white rump, yellow belly, thin face stripes. Female has barred back, brown head; suggests Gila Woodpecker, but has black on chest.
Size
About the size of a Crow, About the size of a Robin
Color
Black, Brown, Red, White, Yellow
Wing Shape
Broad, Rounded
Tail Shape
Multi-pointed, Wedge-shaped
Songs and Calls
A soft nasal churrr, descending in pitch.
Call Pattern
Falling, Flat
Call Type
Chirp/Chip, Drum, Rattle, Scream
Habitat
Higher conifer forests, burns. In summer found in mountains in conifer forests including spruce, fir, and lodgepole pine; also in aspen groves near conifers. Winters mostly in pine and pine-oak woodland in mountains. Even those few that wander to lowlands in winter are likely to be found in conifers.
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Behavior
Eggs
4-5, sometimes 3-7. White. Incubation is by both sexes (with male incubating at night and part of day), 12-14 days.
Young
Both parents feed young, carrying food in bill and throat; young are fed mostly ants. Young leave nest 3-4 weeks after hatching, may disperse from territory very soon afterward. Apparently 1 brood per year.
Feeding Behavior
Drills tiny holes in tree bark, usually in neatly spaced rows, and then returns to them periodically to feed on the sap that oozes out. Also eats bits of cambium and other tree tissues, as well as insects that are attracted to the sap. Besides drilling sap wells, also takes insects gleaned elsewhere in trees, sometimes catches insects in the air or on ground, and perches among twigs to eat berries.
Diet
Includes insects, tree sap, fruit. Eats many kinds of insects; ants may form a very high percentage of diet during breeding season. Also feeds heavily on tree sap, and eats some small fruits and berries.
Nesting
Courtship displays include exaggerated floating and fluttering flight near nest site, and members of pair facing each other while bobbing and swinging heads. Nest site is cavity in tree, often in aspen, pine, or fir, usually 5-60' above ground. Favors trees with dead heartwood and live outer layer, and may return to dig new nest holes in same tree year after year. Excavation of cavity is by male.
Climate Vulnerability
Conservation Status
Still fairly widespread, but habitat could be vulnerable to effects of climate change.
Climate Threats Facing the Williamson's Sapsucker
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.