462 LAND BIRDS 
RED CONSPICUOUS IN PLUMAGE 
403. RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER. — Sphyrapicus 
ruber. 
Famity: The Woodpeckers. 
Length: 8.50-9.25. 
Adults: Entire head, neck, and upper breast red, sometimes lightly 
striped on sides of head with black and white; rest of upper parts 
black, barred with white ; under parts dark gray or yellow. 
Young: Duller, head and breast purplish brown instead of red. 
Geographical Distribution: Pacific coast district north to Alaska, south 
to San Bernardino mountains. 
Breeding Range: The Transition and Boreal zones throughout its Cali- 
fornia range. 
Breeding Season: May 15 to June 15. 
Nest; A gourd-shaped cavity, from 6 to 10 inches deep ; in a live aspen 
tree, 15 to 25 feet from the ground. 
Eggs: 5or6; white. Size 0.91 X 0.71. 
THE Red-breasted Sapsucker is a common summer 
resident in the Sierra Nevada from Mount Shasta to the 
San Bernardino mountains. When the cold of winter 
drives it from the higher altitudes, it migrates irregularly 
westward through the valleys to the coast. 
Among the fir forests of the Sierra Nevada it is con- 
spicuous and frequently met with, and may be heard at 
a distance of two hundred yards, beating its rattling tat- 
too for hours at atime. When alone, it is very noisy, but 
as soon as it suspects your presence, it becomes silent 
and dodges behind the tree trunk, slipping away as soon 
as you look in another direction. In the vicinity of Lake 
Tahoe the mating was arranged and excavation for the 
nest was begun by May 23. When first observed, 
the cavity seemed to be about four inches deep, below 
the first limb of the live aspen tree they had selected for 
