Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus varius
Silhouette: Nancy Wyman (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPiciformes (Woodpeckers and Allies)
- FamilyPicidae (Woodpeckers)
- GenusSphyrapicus (Sapsuckers)
- SpeciesSphyrapicus varius (Yellow-bellied Sapsucker)
About the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
The yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) is a medium-sized woodpecker that breeds in Canada and the northeastern United States. The yellow-bellied sapsucker was described and illustrated using a hand-coloured plate by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published between 1729 and 1732. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he included the yellow-bellied sapsucker, coined the binomial name Picus varius and cited Catesby's book. The specific epithet varius is the Latin word meaning "various", "diverse" or "variegated". Linnaeus specified the type locality as America septentrionalis (North America) but the locality is now restricted to South Carolina. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is now placed in the genus Sphyrapicus that was erected in 1858 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird with the yellow-bellied sapsucker as the type species. Within the genus Sphyrapicus, the yellow-bellied sapsucker is sister to a clade containing the red-breasted sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) and the red-naped sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Pico Bonito National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Pico Bonito National Park
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Melanerpes aurifrons
Chestnut-colored Woodpecker
Celeus castaneus
Black-cheeked Woodpecker
Melanerpes pucherani
Pale-billed Woodpecker
Campephilus guatemalensis
Lineated Woodpecker
Dryocopus lineatus
Smoky-brown Woodpecker
Leuconotopicus fumigatus
Olivaceous Piculet
Picumnus olivaceus
Golden-olive Woodpecker
Colaptes rubiginosus
Rufous-winged Woodpecker
Piculus simplex
Keel-billed Toucan
Ramphastos sulfuratus
Collared Aracari
Pteroglossus torquatus
White-necked Puffbird
Notharchus hyperrhynchus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.