[10] The red-naped sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker,[11] measuring 19–21 cm (7.5–8.3 in) long and weighing 32–66 g (1.1–2.3 oz).

Their breeding habitat is mixed forests in the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin areas of North America.

To provide habitat and foraging for woodpeckers, forest management objectives on public land include snag and live tree retention.

True to their name, and like other sapsuckers, they drill holes in trees and eat the sap as well as insects attracted to it.

[14] Throughout western North America, red-naped sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis) nests have been described primarily in trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) with decay-softened wood.

Heart-wood decay is reported to infect the roots of most aspens that red-naped sapsuckers choose to excavate for nesting.