Red-naped Sapsuckers are medium-sized woodpeckers that look very similar to other woodpeckers and sapsuckers. A long white bar on the wings helps to distinguish them from the Hairy and Downy woodpeckers.
They are black and white with a red cap, nape, and throat and a black stripe through the eye with mottled bellies. Females are similar except for a white patch on the chin.
- Length: 7.5-8.3 in (19-21 cm)
- Weight: 1.1-2.3 oz (32-66 g)
- Wingspan: 16.1-16.9 in (41-43 cm)
Range
Red-naped Sapsuckers are migratory and breed in mountain forests in western US states before migrating to southern Arizona, New Mexico, California, and Northern Mexico.
Habitat And Diet
They feed on sap by drilling parallel lines of holes and using their tongues to lap the sap rather than suck the sap. They also eat ants, spiders, beetles, and flies.
Nests
Like most woodpeckers, they build cavity nests in trees with heartwood fungus, making them softer, and they may reuse the nest in future years and lay 3 – 7 eggs.
Attract Red-naped Sapsuckers
Red-naped Woodpeckers will visit backyards, especially if you have aspen, birch, or pine trees, and they visit suet feeders, and they are more active in the morning.
