Red-Breasted Sapsucker Woodpecker

Facts about Red-Breasted Sapsucker Woodpeckers, "Scientific name for "Red-Breasted Sapsucker Woodpecker is Sphyrapicus ruber". Red-breasted Sapsucker Woodpecker is a Sphyrapicus type of woodpecker that comes from the Picidae family. These woodpeckers are native to North America, and they are largely found in the west coast forests of North America. The Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers usually live in the forest that comprises trees, such as hemlock, pine, Douglas-fir, spruce and fir, though they are recognized to use other forest habitats. The Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers prefer old-growth woodland where they need living trees to offer them the sap on which they nourish. The northern part breeding Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers used to migrate to the southern parts during the winter season, whereas those birds breed in upland and inland locales used to migrate to the coastal lowlands during the winter season, where the climate is milder. Winter home for the Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpecker migrating birds can be a coniferous or deciduous forest.

Adult Red-Breasted Sapsucker Woodpecker birds have a black and white colored body, with a red color head and torso. The Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers have a white-colored lower abdomen and rump. Their back part of the body is black in color, with black color wings with bars. The woodpecker has a big white wing patch. These birds used to nest in tree holes. The Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers interbreed with the yellow-bellied sapsucker or the red-naped sapsucker where their ranges overlie.

The tongue of the Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpecker is tailored with the firm hair for gathering the sap. These birds visit the same tree several times, boring holes in orderly horizontal lines. The Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpecker will leave and return later, when the sap has commenced flowing from the drilled holes. Frequent visits over an extensive period of time can, in fact, destroy the tree. The pests attracted to the sap are also eaten by the Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers. Scientific name for Woodpecker "Picidae". Woodpeckers are birds in the Class of "Aves". There are more than 190 species of woodpeckers worldwide, but none of them are found in polar regions, Madagascar, New Zealand or Australia.

Features

The Red-breasted Sapsucker is an average-sized bird, with a body length, ranging from 7 inches to 8 11/16 inches (17 to 22 cm), with the wingspan that ranges from 14 1/2 inches to 15 11/16 inches (6.6 to 7.1 kg). They have a body mass that ranges from 1.4 pounds to 2.4 pounds (.6 to 1 kg).

Most Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers have zygodactyl feet, having 4 fingers, which means they have two toes facing the front and two toes facing the back, that helps them to have a strong grip on trees vertically. The Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpecker use these 8 fingers with their stiff central portion tail feathers to brace on trees as they climb.

Male and female Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers are able to drum hollow trees logs execrate. Since woodpeckers do not have vocal cords and don't sing, this pecking activity also plays an important role in communicating with each other. Woodpeckers drumming is also to attract a mate, mark out territory, both sexes are known to drum.

An average Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers tongue is up to 4 inches long. The length can be a little different depending on which species of woodpecker. Its tongue wraps around the reinforced skull structured and squashy bone, to even out the impact of the pecking force. Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers have barbed tongues that helps them remove bugs from holes and tree bark.
Feathers that look like hairs on the Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpecker nostrils, prevent ingestion of wood particles.

When feeding, drumming and building a nest cavity, a Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpecker can peck up to 20 times per second, wow that's fast! or a total between 9,000 and 12,000 pecks in a day.

Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers have a prominent surge in flight comprise of three rapid wing flaps, followed by a quick glide when the woodpeckers wings are tucked against its body rather than spread out like many other birds.

Diet

Similar to other sapsuckers, adult Red-breasted Sapsucker birds bore holes in trees and fed on the sap, including insects attracted to them. Occasionally, the Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers grab insects during the flight, and also feed on seeds and berries.

The average lifespan of the Red-breasted Sapsucker Woodpecker ranges from 4 years to 8 years.

Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers are omnivores; meaning - an animal that eats food of both animal and plant and origin.

Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers are monogamous meaning- the pair will mate for lifetime. Both male and female prepare the nest in the tree for babies and both will help feed them. The female Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpecker will lay between 3 and 5 eggs and the incubation period will lasts 11 to 14 days. After one month of hatching, young Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers will leave the nest and venture out on there own.

Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers possess a protective ocular mechanisms for protecting its eyes from shaking from the pecking impact. Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers show a restricted axial globe movement due to the tight fit within the fascial tissue connections and orbit between the sclera and orbital rim.
The eyes of the Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpecker are covered with a nictitating membrane (from Latin nictare, to blink)— a translucent and transparent third eyelid - that protects the Red-breasted Sapsucker woodpeckers eyes from flying debris while pecking.