WOODPECKERS 
211 
the trees are delicate birches they will probably be killed in time, 
but the forest trees are too hardy to be affected by the loss of sap, 
and as the sweet syrup attracts a host of insects, the sapsucker does 
a good piece of work in destroying them. He ranks next to the 
flicker as an ant-eater, one third of his solid food consisting of ants. 
While watching his fly-trap he clings to the trunk as motionless as 
if glued there. 
402a. Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis Baird. Red-naped Sap- 
sucker. 
Adult male. — Upper parts black, thickly marked with white; wing 
coverts plain black, with wide white outer 
stripe; head with red crown and red nuchal 
patch separated by a plain black area ; sides of 
head with white stripes; chest black between red 
throat and pale yellow belly. Adult female: 
similar, but duller, and black chest patch mostly mottled gray. Young : 
duller, red of head and throat wholly wanting or only suggested by pale 
claret-colored tinge. Length: S.00-S.75, wing (male) 4.92-5.10, tail 3.10- 
3.40, bill .95-1.02. 
Remarks. — In the field the black chest patch easily distinguishes the 
adult male nuchalis from ruber (403). 
Distribution. — Transition and Canadian zones in the Rocky Mountain 
region, from British Columbia to northwestern Mexico, and cape region 
of Lower California, and from Colorado and Montana west to the eastern 
slope of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada; casual to western Kansas and 
coast mountain region of California. 
Nest. — Generally in aspens, 5 to 30 feet from the ground. Eggs: 
usually 4 or 5, white. 
Food. — Principally small beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, ants, and larva? 
under the loose bark of trees ; also wild berries, and in fruit growing sec¬ 
tions the sap of peach and apple trees, and willows. 
The members of the genus Sphyrapicus form a marked group. 
They are sapsuckers, girdling the trees with small holes, from which 
they get a perennial supply of sap with a host of attracted insects to 
vary the diet. Their tongues are only slightly extensile, and have 
brushy tips in sharp contrast to the long barbed tongues of the 
Dryobates grou.p, which spear their food from the depths of the 
wood. 
In the nesting season, at least, the sapsuckers are extremely noisy, 
active birds, striding up the tree trunks, calling loudly in tantalizing 
tones, and chasing each other about in fine spirited fashion. 
The red-naped breeds along the borders of streams in the moun¬ 
tains of the interior. 
403. Sphyrapicus ruber (Gmel .). Red-breasted Sapsucker. 
Adults. — Whole head , neck, and chest 
plain red , or black and white markings of 
nuchalis only suggested ; back, wings, and 
tail black, heavily marked with white ; belly Fig. 278. 
Fig. 277. 
