Yellow-bellied x Red-breasted Sapsucker (hybrid) - Bryant Olsen

ML49496581

Yellow-bellied x Red-breasted Sapsucker (hybrid) Sphyrapicus varius x ruber

Report

Contributor

Date

Location

Liberty Park
Salt Lake, Utah, United States
Media from this location Illustrated Checklist
Map
Map Coordinates: 40.7432253, -111.8728888
Age
Not specified
Sex
Not specified

Observation details

Strange but interesting sapsucker. Appears to possibly be a hybrid RBSA X YBSA. Note there is more red on the back of the head than a RNSA, yet has no red on the cheeks as is typical of a RNSA X RBSA, and the red on the throat goes down on the breast more than a typical RNSA. Also note the back pattern has a lot of white suggesting YBSA genes. After over a year of uncertainty, I got some feed back about this bird from Tony Leukering: "....the YBSA/RBSA contact zone is in the northeastern edge of the Interior Plateau of BC. I agree with your thoughts on the bird -- it just has too much red on the head and looks like something that might be a backcross YBSA x RBSA toward YBSA." . Since no other photos of this hybrid seem to exist, I looked extensively, these photos of a possible RBSA X YBSA seem to have extra value.

Technical information

Model
Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
ISO
1250
Focal length
215 mm
Flash
Flash did not fire, auto
f-stop
f/8.0
Shutter speed
1/200 sec
Dimensions
4000 pixels x 2664 pixels
Original file size
3.21 MB