Our Beak of the Week belongs to

a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker! This chisel-like bill is designed for drilling into tree bark. If you've ever noticed a tree with amazingly neat rows of shallow holes drilled into the bark, you've likely admired the work of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. After drilling a sapwell, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker laps up the sap (along with any trapped insects) using its specialized, brush-tipped tongue. These woodpeckers are a winter visitor to Georgia, generally arriving in October and staying through the spring.