[obol] Re: Red-breasted Sapsucker observations / Eugene
- From: David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx>
- To: Bruce Newhouse <newhouse@xxxxxxx>, OBOL Oregon Birders Online <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Shawn Billerman <s.m.billerman@xxxxxxxxx>, Steve Shunk <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 05:11:38 +0000
Bruce,
This is a very interesting bird. Beyond the plumage, which I agree has some
elements that suggest daggetti, the thing that caught my eye was the bill
color. I've looked a lot of sapsuckers, but I've never one with such a pale
bill. To my eye, the washed out red on the breast, which is also more
restricted than what is typical on ruber, plus the amount of white barring on
the back seem to better fit daggetti. The head pattern is ambiguous. Based on
conversations that I've had with Shawn Billerman, variations in head pattern
are considerable in this species complex and may not be all that reliable when
sorting out subspecies and hybrids/intergrades. Shawn is working on his PhD at
Univ. of Wyoming (he may be done now). He's studying Red-breasted and Red-naped
Sapsuckers interactions along their zone of contact in western mountains. Much
of his field work has been done in Oregon within the range of both ruber and
daggetti. I have cc'd him on this post. He may be able to offer a more
authoritative opinion on this bird. I've also cc'd Steve Shunk. I don't know
how closely he follows OBOL these days. He too should be able to offer some
meaningful commentary.
Who knew that Oregon has a woodpecker with an ivory bill?
Dave Irons
Portland, OR
Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2014 19:57:32 -0800
From: newhouse@xxxxxxx
To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [obol] Red-breasted Sapsucker observations / Eugene
http://brucen.zenfolio.com/p431288718
The above link leads to photos (1-7) and videos (8-10) of a
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER, working on a neighbor's tree just outside my
home office window, about 10 blocks south of the UO in Eugene.
Seven photos and two videos show it at work over the last few days,
and the third and final video (10) shows it revisiting the holes for
sap and/or insects. The first video (8), starting at about 15
seconds in, shows the RBSA rapidly making an oval outline (against a
light lichen background) and then proceeding to carve out the bark
layer down to the cambium following the outline. Very fun to watch!
It seems to have color characters of both the northern subspecies ruber
and the southern subspecies daggettii. Sibley Guide to
Birds mentions that the subspecies are sharply delineated in S.
Oregon. (I'm using the National Geo Guide as well.) In Eugene,
therefore, I'd expect ruber, but for this bird, daggettii
seems to fit better, but not perfectly. Maybe there is no
"sharp delineation?"
ruber-like: shorter moustachial stripe
daggetti-like: paler belly (not yellow), red breast does not end
distinctly
not-daggettii-like: the short moustachial stripe; and Sibley
mentions no black on back of crown, yet this one has a bit
inconclusive (to me): width of back stripes, but leaning toward daggettii?
Comments welcome!
Bruce Newhouse in Eugene
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