Greetings All

Red-naped Sapsuckers are uncommon high up on the westslope of the Cascades.
Otherwise, they are rare to very rare in western Washington.

Variation in "pure" Red-naped Sapsuckers is not great; however, hybrids are
not infrequent, and for "out-of-range" Red-napeds (or Red-breasteds) one should
carefully scrutinize the bird to check for signs of integradation. Indeed,
I've found that sapsuckers "on the wrong side" of the mountains often have some
sign of hybridization.

And, as a bit of an aside, for every pure-appearing Yellow-shafted Flicker I
find, I find 5-10 that are integrades.

Cheers
Steven Mlodinow
Everett WA