Red-naped Sapsucker

Ambrosia The Red-naped Sapsucker is a member of the woodpecker clan and derives its peculiar name in part due to its penchant for tree sap. But the moniker seems a bit of a misnomer. Sapsuckers aren’t really capable of sucking much of anything. They have no apparatus for that strategy. Their method for procurement of the nourishing liquid first involves chipping holes in a tree’s bark [called sap wells] which allow the plant fluid to accumulate … sort of like collecting maple syrup. When the time arrives to harvest the ambrosia, the plucky bird doesn’t suck the ooze, but instead employs the tip of its tongue to lap up the fare. There’s an additional benefit to the construction of the sap wells. Their contents attract ants and other insects that sapsuckers seem to greatly savor, too! ~ Anecdote and Red-naped Sapsucker capture, Ambrosia © Jerry L. Ferrara