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- Sphyrapicus ruber
Identification
8-9" (20-23 cm). Smaller than a flicker. A shy woodpecker with long white wing patch; barred back; white rump. In adults, entire head, throat, and breast bright red, belly yellow. Immature dusky brown with light spots above, lighter below, with black and white checkered wings and tail. Voice: Soft, slurred whee-ur or mew, like call of Red-naped Sapsucker.
Distribution
Breeds from southeastern Alaska and British Columbia south to coastal California. Winters in most of breeding range except interior British Columbia.
Taxonomy
Habitat
Woodlands and their edges, groves of aspen and alder.
Behaviour
4-6 white eggs are laid in a cavity drilled in a tree. This mainly coastal sapsucker has habits similar to those of the Red-naped and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. In drilling holes for sap, the Red-breasted will work around a tree trunk in horizontal lines or a checkerboard pattern. It hybridizes with the Red-naped in California and British Columbia.
