Sphyrapicus varius
Silhouette: Nancy Wyman (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) is a medium-sized woodpecker that breeds in Canada and the northeastern United States. The yellow-bellied sapsucker was described and illustrated using a hand-coloured plate by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published between 1729 and 1732. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he included the yellow-bellied sapsucker, coined the binomial name Picus varius and cited Catesby's book. The specific epithet varius is the Latin word meaning "various", "diverse" or "variegated". Linnaeus specified the type locality as America septentrionalis (North America) but the locality is now restricted to South Carolina. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is now placed in the genus Sphyrapicus that was erected in 1858 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird with the yellow-bellied sapsucker as the type species. Within the genus Sphyrapicus, the yellow-bellied sapsucker is sister to a clade containing the red-breasted sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) and the red-naped sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 7 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker sighting in Philadelphia on a given day, based on 3,035 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 51st most-seen of the 248 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Philadelphia on a given day, against under 5% in May to September, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-bellied Sapsucker sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 36 cities where we can rate Yellow-bellied Sapsucker sightings, Philadelphia ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in New York City (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that you can see in Philadelphia (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Red-bellied Woodpecker (about 60%), Downy Woodpecker (about 60%) and Northern Flicker (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is recorded against all the birds logged in Philadelphia (3,035 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
