The Great Backyard Bird Count of 2025 has come to an end. Every year, over a period of a few days in February, people from all around the world bird-watch in their favorite spot and keep track of every species of bird and how many of each species they observe. Yes, I chose to use bird-watch instead of bird. Why? Because birdwatching is a broader term used to describe people who enjoy watching birds in any capacity, for any reason, and the terms birder and birding are usually used to refer to a person who is more serious in their study of birds and their natural histories. The Great Backyard Bird Count is meant to bring all bird lovers together, because the data you submit helps researchers around the globe better understand bird populations. In that spirit, this month’s edition of North Carolina’s Weird and Wonderful will focus on one of our more unusual birds: the yellow-bellied sapsucker.
Photograph of the holes left behind by a yellow-bellied sapsucker courtesy of Tim Tigner, Virginia Department of Forestry, and Bugwood.org
Let’s start with that name. Yellow-bellied sapsucker sounds like an insult tossed around during the Old West days of yore. I wasn’t around back then, so perhaps cattle rustlers and lawmen did call each other a yellow-bellied sapsucker while engaged in shoot-outs, but in this bird group the “sapsucker” refers to the fact that they drill holes in trees and drink the sap that leaks out. You can tell a tree has been visited by a member of the sapsucker genus if you see horizontal rows of ¼ inch holes. Sapsuckers use their brush-like tongue to lap or suck up the sap, though if a bug crosses their path while enjoying their drink, a yellow-bellied sapsucker will partake of the meatier morsel. In terms of the yellow-bellied portion of their name, this species does have a yellow belly, though it can appear white from a distance, and may be a brighter yellow in some individuals. They also have a bright yellow stripe that forms a V shape, with the ends of the V starting at the base of their neck and the point centered on their chest.
Photograph of a yellow-bellied sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius, courtesy of Mary Parker Sonis and the Carolina Bird Club.
Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are also unusual in that they tend to be the quietest of all the sapsuckers and woodpeckers, particularly in winter, which is when North Carolinians have the best chance of seeing them. Their breeding grounds are in the northeastern U.S., but they spend the late fall and winter season in the South, and some even migrate all the way to Central America. They have been found year-round in the high elevations of our state’s mountains, nesting in deciduous trees. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers favor trees that are afflicted with the tinder fungus. This fungal disease softens the heartwood of a tree but leaves the outer bark firm. Both the female and the male excavate the nest cavity, and the 5-7 eggs hatch about two weeks after being laid. The young sapsuckers leave the nest after a month’s time, but their parents teach them how to drill holes and harvest sap for 10 days before their offspring begin their lives on their own. This species, with its brush-like tongue, distinctive coloring, and colorful name, is a shy bird by nature. While not fortunate enough, myself, to have seen one in person, I have observed the neat rows of holes they leave behind, and thinking about yellow-bellied sapsuckers always makes me smile. This weird and wonderful bird undoubtedly brings smiles to the faces of all who are fortunate enough to catch a glimpse.