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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI14090853/00001
Notes
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers 1
Length of Segment: 00:01:08
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. To some, the name 'yellow-bellied sapsucker' may conjure up a childhood taunt by a neighborhood bully or perhaps some mythical creature, but the yellow-bellied sapsucker is a real bird, one of our woodpeckers and a very specialized one at that. Yellow-bellied sap suckers are about eight inches-long and easily distinguished from our other woodpeckers by the presence of a white stripe that extends from the shoulder of each wing. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is mostly black and white, but it does have a yellow wash on its belly. Both sexes have a red cap, but males have a red throat, while females have a white throat. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is unusual among woodpeckers in that it's a migrant; most of our woodpeckers are with us year-around. This sapsucker nests in eastern North America, across southern Canada, into our northern states, and south into the Appalachians. It's a common wintering bird throughout Florida and well into the Caribbean, and its presence is readily noted by the rows of tiny holes it makes in trees in search of sweet sap. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers 2
Length of Segment: 00:01:10
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Like most woodpeckers, the yellow-bellied sapsucker makes its home in wooded areas and spends considerable time climbing about tree trunks and limbs in search of food. Unlike other woodpeckers, however, the yellow-bellied sapsucker doesn't usually excavate rotted wood to reach wood-boring beetles or ants, although it gleans a few insects from tree surfaces, the yellow-bellied sapsucker focuses much of its attention on lapping up sweet sap. To get at the sap, it excavates quarter inch diameter shallow holes in living trees. Sap oozes into the holes, which are called 'sap wells', and the sapsucker samples it. If the sap is sweet, the bird laps it up, then moves on to other holes. The sapsucker returns repeatedly to holes that produce sweet sap. In the spring when sapsuckers are nesting, they feed their young insects and spiders, great sources of protein, but often visit their sap wells to sop up the sweet liquid with their catch, thus sugar-coating dinner for the sapsucker kids. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers 3
Length of Segment: 00:01:15
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. When you see the rows of holes made by a sapsucker in a favorite tree, you may not think too kindly of this woodpecker, but there's more to a sapsucker's sap wells than meets the eye. A healthy tree easily endures the sapsucker's wells. A healthy tree visited by a sapsucker will have few holes, and these will be placed in horizontal rows. A sapsucker may return to such trees and add a few new holes. Horizontal rows of sapsucker wells signal that the sap sucker is searching for food, but not finding it. Most healthy trees don't produce sap with a high sugar content. In contrast, a sick tree releases stored sugars to provide energy to fight its disease and seal off infected tissues. You might liken the tree's response to disease to our own response to infection; we too mobilize nutrients to fight infection, this is reflected by our having a fever. If a sapsucker finds a diseased tree with sweet sap, it excavates sap wells up or down the tree, following the sweet vein. Vertical rows of sapsucker holes on a tree can be an early warning that you've got a diseased tree that's struggling to survive. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers 4
Length of Segment: 00:01:14
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Most woodpeckers feed on insects found in trees and can live in forested areas of North America year-around. The yellow-bellied sapsucker, however, specializes in drinking the sweet sap of trees and during cold weather, trees become dormant with no flow of sap. Sapsuckers must migrate to warmer climates in search of food. As they fly south, they travel at night, stopping by day to feed at sap wells made in previous years and on ripe fruit such as persimmons. There are distinct differences in the migrations of males and females. Most male sapsuckers winter in middle to southern states, while females fly farther south, sometimes to the Caribbean or Central America. A female sapsucker's long journey is rewarded with an abundant supply of sap and fruit. Males have less food available, but being used to the colder weather of their winter home, they can travel north in spring sooner than females. Some males return while northern areas are still frozen because the first males to return get the best nesting areas, and these are the areas females will favor when they return from their winter in the southern sun. ( English )
- Scope and Content:
- Source: Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers 5
Length of Segment: 00:01:13
Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. When the yellow-bellied sapsucker finds a tree with a vein of sweet sap, it works at its sap wells each day to keep the tiny holes open and flowing. Throughout the day, it returns to the same wells to drink. Other creatures find sweet sap enticing, too, and take advantage of the sapsucker's efforts. Downy and red-bellied woodpeckers often drink at sapsucker wells. So too do ruby-throated hummingbirds. There's a strong correlation between the migration schedules of sapsuckers and hummingbirds, and hummingbirds often nest near sapsucker trees because of the ready source of food. Bees, flies, butterflies, and other insects also find nourishment at sapsucker holes. Some lizards such as our green anole and broad-headed skink will occasionally drink sap from the wells, and will also wait by a sap well to capture insects. At night, the sap wells of yellow-bellied sapsuckers are visited by moths and other nocturnal insects and both the sap and the insects provide food for flying squirrels. A sapsucker's food tree usually becomes a fast-food service for a diversity of life in woodland communities. ( English )
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- Resource Identifier:
- FI00900186
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