Page 25 - Black Range Naturalist, April 2020
P. 25

  All Red-breasted Sapsucker (see discussion below) photographs in this article are by J. R. Absher at the A-Spear Ranch. Photographed in early November 2019.
 Red-breasted Sapsucker - Part of
a Superspecies
 by Bob Barnes
In early November 2019, a Red-breasted Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus ruber, was found at the A-Spear Ranch on the east slopes of the Black Range. It was seen and photographed by many. The photographs shown here are by J. R. Absher, who lives at the ranch and is a significant asset for the birding community here.
There are two subspecies of Red-breasted Sapsucker. S. r. daggetti is the bird of California and Nevada. S. r. ruber, which I have had years of experience with, is found (primarily) from southern Oregon along the coastal areas to the southern boundary of the Yukon. The two subspecies intergrade in southern Oregon. When two subspecies cross, they produce an intergrade. Except for the intergrades, which can be confusing, the two subspecies are fairly easy to distinguish from each other.
S. r. ruber is not known to wander widely; S. r. daggetti is found as far south as northern Baja and, at a disjunct location in Arizona, during migration.
When two species interbreed they produce a hybrid. Both subspecies of Red-breasted Sapsucker interbreed with Red-naped Sapsucker (S. nuchalis), which is monotypic and is the common sapsucker of our area. The
species limits are considered stable for these two species, meaning that viable hybrid populations do not exist.1
In personal correspondence of February 17, 2020, Dr. John Hubbard notes:
I agree it does not appear to show any plumage or other external characteristics that suggest it might be an intergrade of any sort either with the Yellow-bellied or Red-naped forms! On the other hand, the rather extensive rows of whitish spotting on the dorsum of this bird are more characteristic of daggetti than the typically smaller ones of ruber, whereas the reddish coloration extending farther down the breast suggests to me just the opposite in terms of the taxonomic name for this particular sapsucker!
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