Day 248: Williamson's Sapsucker

We were lucky to see both a male and female Williamson's Sapsucker one morning when we joined a bird walk in Rocky Mountain National Park. This medium-sized woodpecker breeds in open forested areas with conifers in western North America from northern Mexico to British Columbia.

Adult males are iridescent black on their head, back, sides and tail. They have a white stripe behind the eye and a lower white stripe across each side of the head, a red chin and a bright yellow belly. They have black wings with large white patches. The female is completely different in appearance and was once considered to be a different species.

 Female