Red-breasted Sapsucker Supersp #26 Sphyrapicus ruber Gmelin        Field Guide IDs: NG-278; G-198; PW-pl 40; AW-pl 379; AM(II)-230 Nest Location Nest Type Eggs & Mating System Dev. & Parental Care Primary & 2ndary Diet.. Foraging Strategy MF(?) I: 12-13 DAYS ALTRICIAL SNAG 15 feet - 60 feet (To 100 feet ?) MF (?) 4-5 (4-7) MONOG F: 25-29 DAYS MF(?) TREE SAP FRUIT HAWKS? BREEDING: Aspen-pine assoc and conif forest, including humid coastal lowlands. N populations breed at lower elevations than s populations. ? broods. DISPLAYS: Not well known, but probably similar to Yellow-bellied Sapsucker's. NEST: At low elevation prefers live decid tree (alder, cottonwood, aspen); at higher elevations fir, riparian alder or willow preferred. Decid snags also used. Lined with chips. EGGS: White. 1.0" (24 mm). DIET: Esp ants; drill and strip bark to produce perennial sap wells. Fledglings taught sapsucking while clinging to nest tree, but still fed insects, fruit. CONSERVATION: Winters s to n Baja. NOTES: Warblers, hummingbirds, other species use sap wells. Hybridization between Red-breasted and Red-naped Sapsuckers restricted to narrow zone in s c OR, n e CA, and along CA-NV border to s NV; hybrid zone stable because hybrids are less successful. STANFORD. NOTES: Uncommon migrant and winter resident throughout campus. Excavates wells in eucalyptus, coast live oaks, cedars, and other trees, feeding on extruded sap and entangled insects. In fall and winter, a few can be found fairly easily in the Arboretum by looking for recently excavated wells. ESSAYS: Species and Speciation; Superspecies; Commensal Feeding; Hybridization REFERENCES: Short, 1982.