sapsucker

The genus Sphyrapicus was introduced in 1858 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird with the yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) as the type species.{{cite book|last=Baird|first=Spencer F.|author-link=Spencer Fullerton Baird|year=1858|title=Reports of explorations and surveys to ascertain the most practical and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean made under the direction of the secretary of war in 1853-1856|volume=9 Birds|location=Washington|publisher=Beverly Tucker, printer|pages=[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11689162 xviii], [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11689172 xxviii], [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11689280 80], [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11689301 101]}} The genus name combines the Ancient Greek sphura meaning "hammer" and pikos meaning "woodpecker". The genus is sister to the genus Melanerpes; both genera are members of the tribe Melanerpini in the woodpecker subfamily Picinae.{{Cite journal|last1=Shakya|first1=S.B.|last2=Fuchs|first2=J.|last3=Pons|first3=J.-M.|last4=Sheldon|first4=F.H.|date=2017|title=Tapping the woodpecker tree for evolutionary insight|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=116|pages=182–191|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2017.09.005|pmid=28890006|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319596154|doi-access=free}}

There are four currently recognized species in the genus:

{{Species table |genus= Sphyrapicus |authority-name=S.F. Baird|authority-year= 1858 |species-count=four|no-note=y|narrow-percent=75}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Red-naped sapsucker |binomial=Sphyrapicus nuchalis

|image=File:Red-naped Sapsucker (33214043974).jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=|image-caption=Male

|image2 =File:Red-naped-sapsucker.jpg|image2-caption=Female

|authority-name=Baird |authority-year=1858 |authority-not-original=

|range= the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin areas of North America

|range-image=File:Sphyrapicus nuchalis map.svg

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/row

|name=Red-breasted sapsucker |binomial=Sphyrapicus ruber

|image=File:Sphyrapicus ruber 2.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Gmelin, JF |authority-year=1788 |authority-not-original=yes

|range= southeast Alaska and British Columbia south through the Pacific Coast Ranges of western Washington and Oregon and northern California

|range-image=File:Sphyrapicus ruber map.svg

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Two subspecies |bullets=on

| S. r. ruber (Gmelin, JF, 1788)

| S. r. daggetti Grinnell, 1901

}}

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Williamson's sapsucker|binomial=Sphyrapicus thyroideus

|image=File:Williamson's Sapsucker - Sisters - Oregon S4E1518 (19038668100).jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=|image-caption=Male

|image2 =File:Williamson's Sapsucker Female (9070271016).jpg|image2-caption=Female

|authority-name=Cassin|authority-year= 1852 |authority-not-original=yes

|range= western North America from northern Mexico as far north as British Columbia

|range-image=File:Sphyrapicus thyroideus map.svg

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Two subspecies |bullets=on

| Sphyrapicus thyroideus nataliae (Malherbe, 1854)

| Sphyrapicus thyroideus thyroideus (Cassin, 1852)

}}

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Yellow-bellied sapsucker|binomial=Sphyrapicus varius

|image=File:Yellow-bellied sapsucker in CP (40484).jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=|image-caption=Male

|image2 =File:Yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) female.JPG|image2-caption=Female

|authority-name=Linnaeus |authority-year=1766 |authority-not-original=yes

|range= Canada, eastern Alaska and the northeastern United States

|range-image=File:Sphyrapicus varius map.svg

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies=

}}

{{Species table/end}}

The members of this genus are slender birds with stiff tails and relatively long wings. Their typical pattern in flight is undulating, alternating between quick bursts of wing beats and short dips with wings tucked against the body.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

File:YellowBellied Sapsucker Holes.jpg

As their name implies, sapsuckers feed primarily on the sap of trees, moving among different tree and shrub species on a seasonal basis. Insects, especially those attracted to the sweet sap exuding from sap holes, are often captured and fed to the young during the breeding season. The most easily recognized sap holes are found in birch trees during the breeding season.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

Because sapsuckers attack living trees, they are often considered a pest species.{{cite journal |author=Tate, J. |year=1973 |title=Methods and annual sequence of foraging by the sapsucker |journal=Auk |volume=90 |issue=4 |pages=840–856 |doi=10.2307/4084364 |jstor=4084364 |doi-access=free}} Intensive feeding by sapsuckers is a cause of severe tree damage and mortality, with certain tree species more adversely affected by feeding than others. A USDA Forest Service study found that 67 percent of gray birch (Betula populifolia) trees damaged by yellow-bellied sapsuckers later died of their injuries.{{cite thesis |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/newtown_square/publications/research_papers/pdfs/scanned/OCR/ne_rp136.pdf |date=1969 |last=Rushmore |first=Francis |title=Sapsucker: Damage Varies with Tree Species and Seasons |volume=Forest Service Research Paper NE-136 |publisher=USDA |location=Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Upper Darby, PA}} This compares to a mortality of 51 percent for paper birch (Betula papyrifera), 40 percent for red maple (Acer rubrum), 3 percent for red spruce (Picea rubens), and 1 percent for hemlock (Tsuga canadensis).

{{Reflist |refs=

{{cite web|title=ITIS Report: Sphyrapicus|url=https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=178201|publisher=Integrated Taxonomic Information System|accessdate=3 May 2013}}

{{cite book|last=Jobling|first=James A.|year=2010|title=Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names|url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling|publisher=Christopher Helm|location=London, UK|isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n362 362]}}

}}

• [http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Sphyrapicus.html Sapsucker genus]

{{Cavitaves|Pi.|state=collapsed}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q936752}}

Category:Birds of North America

Category:Taxa named by Spencer Fullerton Baird

Category:Taxa described in 1858