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Glite Dictionary
yellow-bellied sapsucker

yellow-bellied sapsucker

1 9.9
A small woodpecker with a pale yellow belly that drills rows of holes in trees to eat sap and insects
  • noun
  • /ˈjɛloʊˌbɛl.id ˈsæpˌsʌkər/
  • US
translation icon : pájaro carpintero de vientre amarillo
  • I spotted a yellow-bellied sapsucker pecking at a tree, creating holes to get to the sweet sap inside.

Examples

  • A yellow-bellied sapsucker punched holes into black birch.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The yellow-bellied sapsucker is known for its distinctive yellow belly and unique drilling patterns.

  • During the spring, the yellow-bellied sapsucker arrives in our area to feed on tree sap and insects.

Synonyms

woodpecker
vsyellow-bellied sapsucker
21 1.4

A bird with a strong beak that makes holes in trees to find insects

is a particular sap feeding species not the broad family
sapsucker
vsyellow-bellied sapsucker
  • US
3 9.6

A small woodpecker that makes rows of holes in trees to drink sap from apple or maple trees

is the specific eastern species that drills holes to get sap
Sphyrapicus varius
vsyellow-bellied sapsucker
  • Specialized
9.9

A woodpecker with a pale yellow belly that drills tree bark for sap and insects

is the same species but uses the common descriptive name
Sphyrapicus
vsyellow-bellied sapsucker
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of woodpeckers in North America that feed on tree sap

is one specific species within that genus rather than the whole group

Surface Forms

yellow-bellied sapsucker singular
yellow-bellied sapsuckers plural

Morphology

yellow-bellied + sapsucker

The compound is transparently built from 'yellow-bellied' (having a yellow belly) and 'sapsucker' (a bird that sucks sap), so the overall meaning — a bird with a yellow/pale belly that feeds on sap — is directly predictable from the parts. While 'yellow-bellied' can be idiomatic in other contexts (meaning cowardly), in a species name the color + body-part + feeding-behavior composition is literal and cross-linguistically accessible to learners who know the constituent words.

Etymology

Yellow-bellied sapsucker gets its name from the bird's pale yellow belly (yellow-bellied) and its habit of drilling neat rows of holes to drink tree 'sap', which gives the sapsucker part. So the name describes this woodpecker that feeds on sap and insects.