November 11, 2004
Sapsucker revisited
Over the last few days I've had a lot of feedback on the identity of the Davis Sapsucker. Based on the extent of red on the breast and behind the eye, it appears that the bird is a classic male hybrid Red-breasted x Red-naped Sapsucker. Note that the lack of a black breast-band is not necessarily a hybrid feature, but simply ages this bird as a first-year moulting into adult plumage. A photo of an immature male Red-naped Sapsucker exhibiting a similar breast pattern to the Davis bird can be seen on Robert Shantz's website.
Joe Morlan kindly sent me this link to the seminal Auk paper on hybrid sapsucker identification. I enlarged a photo of the Davis bird's head to compare to the hybrid index plate in this paper:
I would give the Davis bird a score of 7, based on the size of the post-ocular spot, a relatively broad white eye-stripe and a black band separating the red on the crown and the nape. Some more excellent photos of hybrid Red-naped x Red-breasted Sapsuckers can be seen here and here.
Posted by rjhall at November 11, 2004 2:04 AM