This bird often perches in the open. Starling competition for nesting sites may be reducing this species' numbers. Call is a raucous kwrrk. The belly is tinged yellow, and the head is red, black and white. The bushy tongue of a sapsucker effectively soaks up sap.
Sapsuckers inhabit forests, orchards, and woodlots.
The sapsucker is the most migratory of our woodpeckers. Call is a jay-like mewing note. This woodpecker has a vertical white stripe down the center of its back, black wings stippled with white on the upper sides, white feathers forming the outer edge of the tail, and white breast. Sexes are similar, but the female lacks the male's small red patch on the back of the head. Larger size and a proportionately longer bill distinguish it from the downy woodpecker.