Sapsucker

The sapsuckers are species of North American woodpeckers in the genus Sphyrapicus.

==Taxonomy and systematics== The genus Sphyrapicus was introduced in 1858 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird with the yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek sphura meaning "hammer" and pikos meaning "woodpecker". The genus is sister to the genus Melanerpes; both genera are members of the tribe Melanerpini in the woodpecker subfamily Picinae.