Sphyrapicus thyroideus
While the male and female of most woodpeckers look very much alike, in the Williamson's Sapsucker they are very different. This difference in plumage so confused early naturalists that for 20 years after being discovered, males were known as the Williamson's Sapsucker, while females were thought to be a completely separate species, which was called the Black-breasted Woodpecker. This sapsucker is named in honor of Robert Williamson, a topographical engineer who led surveying expeditions through the western U.S. The feet of woodpeckers allow them to move vertically. Two toes face forward, one toe points off to the side at a 90° angle, and the small hind toe generally points backward. |
I.D.: Male: black overall; white 'mustache,' trailing eyebrow and wing patch; yellow belly; red chin; white rump; black-and-white flanks. Female: brown head; brown and white barring on the back and wings; white rump; black bib; yellow wash on the belly. In flight: both sexes show a white rump. Size: L 9 in. (23 cm). Range: uncommon summer breeder in the U.S. Rockies north from Colorado. Habitat: open Douglas-fir and other coniferous forests and mixed woods in the foothills and the montane. Nesting: typically west of the Rockies; excavates a cavity in a tree trunk or dead limb; often uses the same tree, but a different cavity, the following year; pair incubates 5-6 eggs for 13 days. Feeding: hammers a series of small, square wells in living trees; eats the sap and insects from the wells; occasionally eats berries and also flycatches for insects. Voice: loud, shrill chur-cheeur-cheeur; tapping is irregular, slow and Morse code-like. Similar Species: Three-toed, Hairy and Downy woodpeckers: lack the bold, white wing patch, the red chin and the yellow wash on the belly. Northern Flicker: spotted underparts; more patterning on the head than a female Williamson's. |
