Williamson's Sapsucker

• Size: 8.3-9.8" long // 1.6-1.9" wingspan
• Diet: sap of coniferous trees, phloem, ants, beetles, aphids, flies, and other insects
• Seasonal Habits: Migrate in winter
• Temperament: Aggressive to other birds

The male Williamson's Sapsucker is a silken black woodpecker with a cherry-red throat, a rich yellow belly, and sharp white wing patches. Unlike most woodpecker species, the female looks totally different (and was originally thought to be a different species entirely). It looks almost like a diminutive flicker, with a mousy brown head, banded back, and small patches of black and yellow on the belly. This fairly common sapsucker of western mountains drills rings of holes in coniferous trees, then feeds on the tree's sap.