Don't be Suckered by Sapsuckers

Prior to being split by the American Ornithological Union (AOU) in 1985, Red-naped, Red-breasted, and Yellow-bellied sapsuckers were considered conspecific under the name Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Since this reclassification, birding journals and magazines have abounded with articles offering insights into the identification of these three Sphyrapicus sapsucker species and their hybrids. With the publication of each new edition of a popular field guide comes an ever-expanding array of illustrations depicting the variability within this super-species group. Despite all the effort to clear the air, at least once or twice a year I receive e-mails asking for help identifying attached images of troublesome sapsuckers. I’ve received two such e-mails recently, so I thought I would share the ID tips and elaborate on the responses that I sent to those who queried me about these birds.

Though superficially similar to an adult Red-naped Sapsucker — evidenced by the white supercilium (line above they eye) and broad mostly black auricular stripe (starting behind the eye) — there are several aspects of the above bird that tell us it is a hybrid Red-naped Sapsucker X Red-breasted Sapsucker. First, the red on the underparts extends from the throat well down onto the upper breast. Only Red-breasted Sapsucker (or a hybrid involving Red-breasted parentage) shows red this far down the breast. Red on the underparts is restricted to the throat area on the other two species. Secondly, there is no obvious black breast “shield,” which would normally frame the red throat patch on a pure Red-naped. We can rule out both subspecies of pure Red-breasted Sapsucker (S. r. ruber and S. r. daggetti) as neither shows the extensive black and white exhibited in the face pattern of this bird. It is worth pointing out that “pure” Red-naped Sapsuckers occasionally show some red bleeding through in the black-feathered areas, but they do not show red bleeding onto the white areas. As I understand it, red (carotenoid) pigmentation and black (melanin) pigmentation can both be present in different portions of the same head feathers of these two species, whereas white feathers result from the absence of these pigments (Johnson and Johnson 1985). Thus, without some genetic introgression from Red-breasted Sapsucker, there should not be any red feathering bleeding on to the white facial stripes.

In the case of the sapsucker shown here, the observer was on the fence over whether this was an immature Red-naped or Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Historically, it was believed that hatch-year Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers retain their mostly brown and buffy plumage through their first fall and show no red on the crown until they molt on the wintering grounds. However, recent examinations of molt timing in this species suggests otherwise (Mlodinow et al. 2006). These authors found that some migrant hatch-year Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers collected north of presumed wintering grounds, showed red in the crown. A thorough search of museum specimens further revealed that all Red-naped Sapsuckers taken after 1 October showed some red on the nape and by late fall most Red-napeds were adult-like in appearance (Mlodinow et al. 2006).

This individual, photographed in November, shows no red on the nape and presents several plumage characteristics consistent with a hatch-year bird, all of which points away from this bird being a Red-naped Sapsucker. First, it still shows a lot of brown and buff tones in the overall plumage. By this date a Red-naped should look more black and white in appearance. Also, the crown is not solid red, rather it is well mottled with brown tipped feathers. Another important thing to look at is the face pattern. Generally speaking, the face of a Red-naped Sapsucker has a rather broad and nearly solid black auricular (behind the eye) stripe that is bordered above by a somewhat narrow white supercilium (above the eye) that tends to narrow anteriorly. Conversely, the dark auricular stripe on a Yellow-bellied is noticeably narrower and is often mottled with paler tipped feathers. The supercilium on Yellow-bellied is wider overall and tends to broaden a bit behind the eye. These differences account for the face of a Red-naped looking more dark than light, while the face of a Yellow-bellied tends to look more light than dark. Finally, the extensive light-colored mottling (buffy golden tones) across most of the back is a good supporting mark for Yellow-bellied, although there is some overlap in the extent of the light mottling on the backs of these two species.

Literature Cited:

Johnson, Ned K. and Carla Bowman Johnson, 1985. Speciation in Sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus): II Sympatry, Hybridization, and Mate Preference in S. ruber daggetti and S. nuchalis.

The Auk 102:1 1-15. Mlodinow, Steven G., Jessie H. Barry, and Cameron D. Cox 2006. Variation in Red-naped and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. Birding 38:6 42-51.