Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), Mormon Lake, Coconino County

This immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was photographed by Jason Wilder on 01 October 2011.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a rare but regular visitor to the state with a few reported every year.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Red-naped Sapsuckers differ in the timing of molt. This makes Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers of this age relatively easy to identify. Juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers molt on the wintering grounds and retain their dull, brownish head, back, and underparts feathering until early winter. Red-naped Sapsucker juveniles on the other hand molt into first-basic plumage before they leave the breeding grounds and sport an adult-like facial pattern and back pattern in the fall and winter.

01 October 2011, photo by Jason Wilder

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