Sapsucker WESTERN BIRDS 



GENUS SPHYRAPICUS: NORTHERN 

 RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER. 



Northern Red-Breasted Sapsucker: Sphyrapicus 

 ruber notkensis. 



FAMILY— WOODPECKERS. 



Of course, it would never do for the west to have 

 simply one species of these gorgeous birds, for the big 

 west with its high mountains, its big trees, crystal lakes, 

 fertile valleys, and expanse of ocean, has no need to 

 scrimp its measure, even in the matter of bird life, albeit 

 that bird is the most beautiful of its kind. And so we 

 are told another Sapsucker, which is really a subspecies, 

 and differs chiefly in having a darker, less vivid head, 

 breeds from Alaska to the mountains of northern Cali- 

 fornia, east to the eastern slope of the Cascades, winter- 

 ing as far south as Monterey, California. This bird, 

 which differs in habits not materially from all the others, 

 is the Northern Red-breasted. 



GENUS SPHYRAPICUS : WILLIAM- 

 SON 'S SAPSUCKER. 



Williamson*s Sapsucker: Sphyrapicus thyroideus. 

 FAMILY— WOODPECKERS. 



While the east must struggle along with one species of 

 Sapsucker, one more must be recorded for the west, 

 making four in all. This last bird differs a good deal in 

 plumage from all the rest, being darker and less showy. 

 This is the Williamson's which breeds in the mountain 

 forests from British Columbia and Montana south to 

 southern California, central Arizona, New Mexico, west- 

 ern Texas, south to Mexico. 



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