Red-naped Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus nuchalis

Drills sap wells in neat rows, then guards them jealously. Hummingbirds, warblers, and squirrels all freeload off its work.

Population: ~2 million mature individuals (confirmed directly via BirdLife DataZone factsheet, sourced from Partners in Flight 2016 estimate)
Habitat: Mixed coniferous-deciduous mountain forests, especially aspen stands with adjacent willows/alders; nests in cavities excavated in dead or decaying trees (often aspen)
Fun fact: Despite their name, sapsuckers do not "suck" sap at all — they lap it up with a brush-tipped tongue from neat rows of drilled sap wells, and hummingbirds are known to trail Red-naped Sapsuckers to feed on the sap and insects those wells attract.
Range: Breeds in the Rocky Mountains, Great Basin, and interior mountain ranges of the western USA and western Canada; a short/medium-distance migrant wintering from the southern breeding edge south through Mexico into Guatemala. BirdLife DataZone estimates an extent of occurrence around 2.4-2.6 million km² spanning Canada, the USA, Mexico, and Guatemala.
Diet: Tree sap lapped from drilled sap wells (in aspen, birch, willow), plus a wide variety of insects (especially ants) attracted to or trapped in the sap, occasional aerial insect-catching, and seasonal berries and fruit
Size: 0.2 m
Wingspan: 0.42 m
Lifespan: 5 years

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