Wintering sapsuckers: Red-naped

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All but one of the sapsuckers I have found overwintering this season in Canon City have been Williamson's except this male Red-naped that I refound where he was previously seen at The Abbey. Some birders might misidentify this male as a Yellow-bellied as the 'frame' around it's throat is relatively heavy for a Red-naped (and some Yellow-bellied have some red feathering on their napes); however, the black frame is broken, at the place where it bends, where some of the red feathers cover it and almost meet the white feathering. Also consistent with it's Red-naped identification is the reduced amount of white on it's back and the clear separation of the white feathering into 2 longitudinal bands (though I find this is not always a definitive field mark). SeEtta

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