Juvenile, Female, And Male Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers

December 8, 2025

Three slightly different looks of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius).

This one, a juvenile, looking very speckled. They have this look until their first major molt by early spring.

A female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Notice that she has a brilliant red cap but her throat is white.

And the male sitting at the edge of the birdbath. He also has a bright red cap and his throat, unlike the female, is the same bright red as his cap.

Published by

Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.