Red-naped Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus nuchalis

Red-naped Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus nuchalis. Photograph taken within a residential community in Alamos, Sonora, February 2018. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Red-napped Sap-sucker, Sphyrapicus nuchalis. Photograph taken within the greater Bahía de los Ángeles area, Baja California, March 2024. Photograph courtesy of George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles, Baja California. Identification courtesy of Mary & George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles.

The Red-naped Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus nuchalis, is a member of the Picidae Family of Woodpeckers, and one of four global species of the Sphyrapicus Genus. They received their common name due to the ability to create sap wells in the bark of woody plants and feed on the sap that collects there. They are known in Mexico as chupasavia nuquirrojo.

The Red-naped Sapsucker is small to medium-sized in stature. They have a black-bib on the upper breast, a prominent red forehead, a black band at the rear, a red nape, a black stripe along the side of the head bordered by two white stripes, a black crown and nape, a large white wing-patch, a black back, a white rump and buffy to yellow-tinged underparts. The sexes are similar and difficult to separate visually.

The Red-naped Sapsucker are found in diverse habitats including orchards and pin-oak woodlands. They primarily feed on plant saps, fruits and ants. They are known to exhibit aggressive behavior to defend their territories. The Red-naped Sapsucker is poorly studied and very little has been documented about their biology or behavioral patterns.

The Red-naped Sapsucker is a winter visitor to Mexico being found along the Pacific Slope from the California, Arizona and New Mexico borders to Baja California Sur and from Sonora, central Coahuila and Nuevo León south to Jalisco at elevations below 2,500 m (8,200 feet).

From a conservation perspective the Red-naped Sapsucker is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. In some areas they are considered to be pests to fruit orchards. Their long term viability is threatened by habitat degradation of riparian areas via human development.