462 LAND BIRDS 



RED CONSPICUOUS IN PLUMAGE 



403. RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER. — Sphyrapicus 

 ruber. 



Family : 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: 5 or 6 : 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 a time. 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 



