It eats the inner bark, then laps up the sap with its tongue. It also eats insects, usually the ones that get stuck in the sap. Hummingbirds, warblers, and many other birds sip sap from sapsucker wells. Because tree sap stops running during the winter, the sapsucker can t eat, so it flies south to warmer places, such as the southern United States, Mexico, and Central America. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers have yellow bellies and a red forehead.
Females have a white patch on the throat.
Males have a red throat patch. These birds are common in most of the state. Bird Work Laura Erickson spent part of her summer raising baby flickers. Their nesting tree had blown down in a storm, breaking apart their nesting hole. Laura kept the four little flickers for a week in her house in Duluth.