While sipping coffee at my kitchen table this morning, reading and glancing up to see what birds were coming to my feeder, this sapsucker visited the poplar tree just uphill, where last fall a few other sapsuckers patronized at times. At first I thought this was the Yellow-bellied who came back for a visit, but this one shows no red on him. Looks to be a hybrid. What do you think?
The extent of red, especially in the throat and nape are key ID marks for Red-naped and Yellow-bellied, so B&W makes it tough. But other factors including the back patterning also point to a hybrid (RNxYB).
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