This is a very relevant question that is readily answered by the Sibley Field Guide, which I find to be one of the most accessible authorities on juvenile plumages. The juvenile plumages of the sapsuckers can be difficult to differentiate, except the timing is different for the different species. Where the Williamson's and Red-breasted Sapsuckers molt into adult plumage by August, and the Red-naped, which looks just like our Yellow-bellied juvenile, molts in October, while the Yellow-bellied does not molt until March. If you see a juvenile sapsucker in winter or early spring, it is definitely a Yellow-bellied. Steve Weston On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN swest...@comcast.net
On Wed, Apr 7, 2021 at 4:01 PM Miller Johnson <johnson-mil...@msn.com> wrote: > This brings me to ask the question: when do juvenile Yellow-bellied > Sapsuckers develop their adult head plumage? > > On 04-05-21 I observed three Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. They were an > "adult" male, "adult" female, and a juvenile. The male and female were > doing courtship displays. The juvenile flew at the female, and then the > male flew at the juvenile, seemingly to chase it away from the female. > > One of the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker pairs here last year had one kid. > These three are hanging out in the same areas as last year's family. Could > this still be a 2020 family unit? > > Thanks, > Molly Miller > Inver Grove Hts > Dakota County > ------------------------------ > > Date: Mon, 5 Apr 2021 14:36:25 -0500 > From: Charlene Nelson <birdnir...@gmail.com> > Subject: FOY Yellow bellied Sapsucker/Grant County > > Juvenile on cherry tree, known tree for sapsuckers. > > Charlene Nelson > Elbow Lake farm still in quarantine > > **************************************************** > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
