any of a genus (Sphyrapicus) of American woodpeckers that often drill holes in trees for the sap and the insects the sap attracts
See sapsucker in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
Any of various small American woodpeckers of the genus Sphyrapicus that drill holes in certain trees to drink the sap and eat insects in them, especially S. varius, the common species in the eastern United States, and S. thyrsoides, found in the mountain regions of the western United States.