Similar to many woodpeckers, the red-breasted sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) has the familiar black and white color scheme. It has a red head, nape and breast. It has a large white wing patch and the rump is white. The belly is pale yellow

Look for these 8- to 9-inch long woodpeckers in southeast Alaska and British Columbia south through the Pacific Coast Ranges of western Washington and Oregon and into northern California during the breeding season. Then will be found farther south into Baja in winter.

The males courtship displays include pointing bill up and swaying from side to side. The nest is built in primarily coniferous forests but also uses deciduous trees, which are trees that lose their foliage and are seasonal. The nest is lined with wood chips and is built in the same tree year after year, but not necessarily in the same hole. Other birds use abandoned sapsucker sites to build their own nests.

The female lays four to seven white eggs and both she and her mate care for them. The young fledge in 23 to 28 days.

In addition to sap, these birds like insects and berries. To collect the sap, Sapsuckers will drill little holes in tree bark and return to them periodically to feed on the sap that oozes out.

Class: Aves | Order: Piciformes | Family: Picidae | Genus: Sphyrapicus | Species: S. ruber

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photo by Jeanne Jones