Your photo is indeed of an adult female Red-naped Sapsucker. The red nape is
diagnostic for the species. The throat pattern with the white chin is
consistent with a female. An adult male would have more extensive red washing
over the black border of the throat patch. Adult Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have
a more well-defined border to the throat patch, which is white in females and
red in males. These species are difficult to separate without good looks/pics.
Immature birds are even more difficult to separate.
Good pix by the way.
One has to be careful with online identification information. Not everyone who
has a webpage knows what they’re talking about. However the Red-naped,
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker name suggests that the information is out of date.
These two species and the Red-breasted Sapsucker were considered subspecies of
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker until they were separated in 1983. They interbreed, so
intermediate forms are possible and may not be separable. Another issue is
location. My wife recently told me about a coworker being excited about a bird
at her feeder. She had found it online and found that it was rare. The rarity?
A House Finch. So, I suspect she was looking at a website from somewhere other
than most of the contiguous 48.
I recommend starting with a good field guide (or more) when identifying a
bird. National Geographic would be my first choice followed by Sibley’s. Read
the text as well as looking at the illustrations. I typically don’t use the
internet for ID except for finer points or to double check something I can’t
remember for certain.
Sent slowly from Phillip Kite's iPhone.
