A Handsome Woodpecker Named for its Dashing Plumage

It is spring, and with the turning of the seasons comes longer days, fragrant blossoms, and, of course, migratory birds. Mixed in with the Southwest’s hummingbirds, warblers, and flycatchers is a handsome woodpecker named for its dashing plumage: the Red-naped Sapsucker. 

Red-naped Sapsuckers (males and females alike) usually have a distinctive red patch on the back of their heads. This important feature distinguishes them from Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, of which the Red-naped Sapsucker was long considered a subspecies. The sapsuckers (red-naped and otherwise) are an anomaly among woodpeckers. The females of three of North America’s four species have red markings on their heads, a field mark usually reserved for male woodpeckers. In the case of the red-naped sapsucker, the female has a distinctive white chin between her beak and red throat, which makes distinguishing between the sexes relatively easy. In either case, with a jaunty red hat and a rakish kerchief of crimson about its neck, a Red-naped Sapsucker can be depended upon to dress with a sense of debonair. 

The second part of the name, sapsucker, relates to the feeding behavior for which this group of birds is most well-known. In much the same way that we tap maple trees for syrup, sapsuckers will make rows of tiny holes in the bark of trees. Instinctively, the sapsucker allows enough spacing between holes to preserve the function of the cambium (the “living” part of the tree trunk responsible for the transportation of nutrients) and leave the tree alive, even with potentially hundreds of holes on a single trunk. Once sap begins to seep from the holes in the bark, sapsuckers are provided with virtually all the nutrients they need. The sugary sap provides carbohydrates and the bugs that show up to freeload are a great source of protein. Several species of hummingbird have even been reported following sapsuckers to feed on sap and insects in their wake. 

Scientific nomenclature calls the Red-naped Sapsucker Sphyrapicus nuchalis, the name derived from the Greek “sphura” and “pikos” meaning “hammer” and “woodpecker” respectively, and “nuchalis” referring specifically to the nape of the neck. The hammering behavior of woodpeckers is widely regarded as one of their most distinctive features, but each has a slightly different method, sometimes distinctive enough that species can be determined by the sound of pecking alone. The Red-naped Sapsucker has a short burst of pecks that slows in cadence, like a little gas motor stuttering to a stop. 

Want to see one of these handsome critters? First, make sure you’re in the right place. Red-naped Sapsuckers can be found year-round in narrow ranges of southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, but tend to migrate a fair distance, moving as far south as Jalisco in late August, and all the way up to central British Columbia and Alberta in March and April. When nesting in spring and summer, the Red-naped Sapsuckers prefer soft-wooded trees for the building of cavity nests—most frequently cottonwood, aspen, birch, and larch. 

As the warmer months rush toward us, Red-naped Sapsuckers are on the move; a male and female pair has already begun shopping around the Randall Davey Audubon Center for a place to raise a family. Keep an open ear and a sharp eye—there may just be a dapper-dressed sap-tapping woodpecker migrating through your neighborhood.