Red-naped Sapsucker

The Red-naped Sapsucker occupies montane forests of the interior western United States and southwestern Canada, filling a niche similar to the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker of the east. The two species look alike overall but differ in a key detail: this species shows red extending onto the nape.

It shares the sapsucker habit of drilling sap wells in aspen, willow, and conifer bark, and is often found where these tree types mix at moderate to high elevation.

• Nape: shows a red patch connecting to the red crown, the key mark separating it from Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
• Face: black-and-white striped, similar to other Sphyrapicus sapsuckers
• Throat: red in males; often shows some red or red-flecked white in females
• Back: black with white barring and a long white wing patch
• Vs. Red-breasted Sapsucker: Red-naped retains more black-and-white facial striping, unlike the nearly solid red head and breast of Red-breasted Sapsucker

Males show a fully red throat and a red nape patch; females often show a partly red or white throat with a smaller nape patch. Juveniles are mottled brownish, gaining adult pattern after their first molt. This species can hybridize with both Yellow-bellied and Red-breasted Sapsuckers where their ranges meet, producing intermediate plumage.

Breeds in aspen groves, mixed conifer-deciduous forest, and montane woodland across the interior western United States and southwestern Canada, migrating to the southwestern U.S. and Mexico for winter. It favors elevations with mature aspen for nesting.

Drills characteristic rows of sap wells in aspen and other trees, feeding on sap and insects attracted to it, along with fruit. Nests are excavated in live aspen trunks, often those already softened by heart rot. Its call is a nasal mewing similar to other sapsuckers, and its drumming has an irregular, stuttering cadence.