Bird

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus varius

Lives in North Carolina all year and nests here. Found in all 100 counties, across 20 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 100 counties
Habitats: 20

Male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Bill Keim, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0. iNaturalist photo 606197842. Source-provided large resize; no crop or image edits.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 100 counties
Habitats: 20
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in North Carolina 20

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 20

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; South-Central Interior Large FloodplainNamed place / source context. Shown: Congaree Swamp National Monument floodplain forest, South Carolina; representative illustration, no exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.fallen (uprooted) tree, John Dawson, by1988. Public domain. Source record.

WinterSouthern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine ModifierNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

WinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove ForestRegional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointCove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

WinterDeveloped, Open SpaceLyell Carr, Black Mountain: a pasture and hayfield with a log barn, rail fence and grazing cow below the Black Mountains. Black Mountain, North Carolina (Lyell E. Carr)*Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain"*, Lyell Carr, c. 1890-1912. Public domain. Source record.

WinterRegional / representative. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpointSpruce-fir forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianFrederic Edwin Church, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina (1865-70): a boulder-strewn mountain river under autumn-coloured ridges. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. North Carolina mountains (Frederic Edwin Church, oil sketch 1865-70; Cooper Hewitt)*Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70*, Frederic Edwin Church, 1865-1870. Public domain. Source record.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampNamed place / source context. Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretationView, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland; Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

SummerWinter

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

WinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Sandhills

Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Other habitats in its models (135)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in North Carolina. Those recorded in North Carolina first, the rest by region.

In North Carolina 2

Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Winter.
Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Winter.

Elsewhere in the South (77)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter.
Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Winter.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Winter.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Floodplain Forest Winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter.
Edwards Plateau Dry-Mesic Slope Forest and Woodland Winter.
Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Winter.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Winter.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Winter.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Winter.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Winter.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Winter.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Winter.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Winter.
Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Winter.
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Winter.
South Florida Cypress Dome Winter.
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Winter.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Winter.
South Florida Mangrove Swamp Winter.
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter.
South Florida Pine Rockland Winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Winter.
South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Summer and winter.
Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer and winter.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Winter.

Northeast (9)

Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Winter.
Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Winter.

Midwest (6)

North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter.
Northwestern Great Plains Floodplain Winter.
Western Great Plains Dry Bur Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.

Land cover and other classes (41)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Summer and winter.
Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Developed, Low Intensity Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Winter.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Winter.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
Northwestern Great Plains - Black Hills Ponderosa Pine Woodland and Savanna Winter.
Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure Agriculture Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Winter.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Winter.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.

All habitats

Seasons in North Carolina

Migratory: does not nest here, in 8 of 100 counties.
Winter: does not nest here, in 90 of 100 counties.
Summer: nests here, in 23 of 100 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 16

Mountain Paper Birch
Betula cordifolia
Tree. Native
River Birch
Betula nigra
Tree. Native
Sweet Birch
Betula lenta
Tree. Native
Yellow Birch
Betula alleghaniensis
Tree. Native
Allegheny Plum
Prunus alleghaniensis
Tree. Native
American Plum
Prunus americana
Tree. Native
Black Cherry
Prunus serotina
Tree. Native
Canada Plum
Prunus nigra
Tree. Native
Carolina Laurel Cherry
Prunus caroliniana
Tree. Native
Chickasaw Plum
Prunus angustifolia
Tree. Native
Choke Cherry
Prunus virginiana
Tree. Native
Fire Cherry
Prunus pensylvanica
Tree. Native
Hog Plum
Prunus umbellata
Tree. Native
Susquehanna Cherry
Prunus susquehanae
Shrub. Native
Common Elderberry
Sambucus canadensis
Tree. Native
Red Elderberry
Sambucus racemosa
Tree. Native

Plant genera in its diet records (3)

Betula Seeds. 2 diet records. 4 native plants in North Carolina
Prunus Seeds. 2 diet records. 10 native plants in North Carolina
Sambucus Leaves. 2 diet records. 2 native plants in North Carolina

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in North Carolina, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker uses many habitats in North Carolina; these are its 3 most characteristic.