Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber)
Woodpeckers
Rare
Fall and Winter
Red-breasted Sapsucker - San Bernardino Mountains, CA
© Tom Benson
Red-breasted Sapsucker - CSU San Bernardino
© Tom Benson
The Red-breasted Sapsucker is a rare fall migrant and winter visitor on campus from October to March. It is a fairly common year-round, breeding resident in the mountains of southern California, and an uncommon fall and winter visitor to the coastal lowlands.
High Count: 2, Average Count: 1
The Red-breasted Sapsucker can be identified by its red head and breast, whitish belly, black upperparts with white markings, and white wing stripe. It is a member of the woodpecker family, and drills distinctive horizontal rows of holes on tree trunks (see photo above) and consumes the sap and insects that are attracted to it.