Hi David,



Actually, males do most of the incubation in woodpeckers and sapsuckers.
They alternate with females during the day at 30-60 minute intervals and
then males incubate all night long. Males also brood the young all night
and alternate with the female during the day until the chicks are about 10 -
12 days old when they start getting pin feathers and can start to
thermoregulate. So, the bird in the photo may actually be the male that is
showing the wear in the head feathers.



However, wear on the head feathers I would expect to occur from going in and
out of the cavity entrance. Thus, I would expect both sexes to show similar
wear in the head feathers. Interestingly, I haven't noticed such pronounced
head feather wear on the woodpecker species I have studied including
White-headed and Hairy Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers. The only wear I
have noticed throughout the nesting season is in the tail feathers of Hairy
and White-headeds, which can get quite worn down and appear as short stubs
compared to their full length at the start of the breeding season. Though,
they don't have extensive colored feathers on their heads which might show
more wear than black and white feathers.



Interesting photos for sure!



Jeff Kozma



Yakima

Jcr underscore 5105 at charter dot net



From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of D. Gluckman
Sent: Monday, June 9, 2014 4:23 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] Red-brested Sapsucker colors



After reading posts on this site and doing some other reading, I am almost
convinced that this color difference could be a product of the wear on the
female who does all the sitting on eggs in that confined space. Haven't run
into any studies on it. I would expect the mottling to disappear after the
next molt if it's true. I wonder whether the lack of consistency in the ID
books on the California race may mean that the there is no real north/south
difference? Food for thought and always willing to listen to varying
opinions.

Check out the image of the couple at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/125370117 at N08/



David Gluckman
Pt. Townsend, WA
David 360.531.3325 Casey 360.531.3359