![\"red-naped](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/red-naped-sapsucker-7313-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMale and female Red-naped Sapsuckers are almost identical in plumage and size so sexing them in the field can be difficult.<\/p>\n
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1\/2500\/ f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n The entire throat area of the male is solid red while the chin and upper throat of the female is typically white with red below.\u00a0Because of the white chin I know this bird to be a female.<\/p>\n Usually the amount of red in the throat area can be used to accurately sex adults of the species but not always because the amount of red in the throat can be highly variable in some individual females.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200\/ f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n Last week I photographed a nesting pair of Red-naped Sapsuckers that were very difficult to sex. In fact if I hadn’t been able to determine from their behaviors at the nesting tree\u00a0that they were a mated pair at first glance I’d probably have thought they were both males because\u00a0neither bird had any significant amount of white on the upper throat.<\/p>\n This is actually the female of the pair (I just happened to catch her with her crest raised).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1250\/ f\/4, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/p>\n And this is the male of the pair. Notice that neither bird has a predominantly white chin. So, since they’re so similar how do I know their sex?<\/p>\n In a pinch one more trait can be used to sex them. Notice that the female in the previous image\u00a0has a distinct black border between the reds of\u00a0her throat and the white stripe below her eye. In the male\u00a0that black border is nonexistent or incomplete.<\/p>\n So, there are actually two traits that can be used to sex the species – the amount of red\/white in the throat and chin and that black border between the red throat and the white stripe. In my experience there’s enough individual variation to make\u00a0both traits useful in sexing the species.<\/p>\n I realize that this post will have limited interest\u00a0for many of my readers – after all, Red-naped Sapsuckers aren’t even found in the eastern half of the\u00a0US so many will never have seen them. But if you’re into birds minutia is often significant and this is where my mind went\u00a0for today’s post.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Male and female Red-naped Sapsuckers are almost identical in plumage and size so sexing them in the field can be difficult.<\/p>\n![\"red-naped](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/red-naped-sapsucker-5257-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"red-naped](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/red-naped-sapsucker-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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