[Tweeters] Odd Red-breasted Sapsucker in Burien

[Dennis Paulson via Tweeters]

Tom, Red-breasted and Red-naped Sapsuckers hybridize surprisingly freely where their ranges meet, and a wandering hybrid (Red-naped genes would be migratory) is probably a lot more likely than the southern subspecies of Red-breasted. 

Dennis Paulson
Seattle


> On Oct 2, 2024, at 8:36 PM, Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

> 

> I’m reading now at https://forums.whatbird.com/index.php?/topic/15582-what-kind-of-sapsucker/ a discussion of Sphyrapicus ruber daggetti which bears considerable resemblance to my bird. One photo at https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/47538091#_ga=2.117925579.314690642.1607699442-635920480.1580272015 looks rather like mine. 

> 

> Further browsing at bird.org found a few Sphyrapicus ruber which a white malar stripe, but not nearly as bold as mine. https://ebird.org/species/rebsap?__hstc=264660688.518c6b2c667ce608f25ee9acc86aba1d.1727908962038.1727908962038.1727924698023.2&__hssc=264660688.8.1727924698023&__hsfp=3134180813&_gl=1*y43xei*_gcl_au*MTAzOTE0MDcwNC4xNzI3OTA4OTYx*_ga*ODkzMTEwMzg3LjE3Mjc5MDg5NjI.*_ga_QR4NVXZ8BM*MTcyNzkyNDY5Ni4yLjEuMTcyNzkyNjIyNS42MC4wLjA.

> 

> Tom benedict

> Seahurst, WA

> 

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>> On Oct 2, 2024, at 20:20, Tom Benedict via Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>> 

>> This afternoon I noticed (heard) a Sapsucker in a tree in our yard. We don’t see them often but they are regular yard birds and a few of the trees, cedars, have many rows of sap ‘taps’ in them.

>> 

>> The birds are usually easy to identify, especially since here in the Puget Trough we typically only have the Red-breasted Sapsucker. Today, however, the bird looked different. The red on the head and neck was subdued and there was distinct facial patterning including bold white lines from the bill to nap. The facial markings suggested Red-naped Sapsucker, but there was definitely no red nape. I considered that it might be a juvenile, but the other markings, especially the white/black on the back and tail, were quite distinct. 

>> 

>> I’ve browsed a lot of photos at Cornell Lab and All About Birds and am wondering whether it might be a hybrid.

>> 

>> I took some low quality photos with my phone but I don’t have a site to upload them to. I’d be happy to send some photos to anyone who’d like to see them.

>> 

>> Tom Benedict

>> Seahurst, WA

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