The story of the bird
The sapsuckers are the most patterned of the woodpeckers, and the Red-naped is among the most precisely marked of the sapsuckers. Sphyrapicus nuchalis - the species name means nape - carries red on the forehead and crown, a second red patch on the nape, a red throat bordered by black-and-white stripes, and a boldly barred back in black and white. It is a bird that rewards close examination: the more you look, the more pattern there is.
The drilled rows of sap wells are the field sign. The Red-naped Sapsucker drills horizontal lines of small holes in the smooth bark of aspens, willows, and cottonwoods, then returns repeatedly to harvest the sap that pools in them. Hummingbirds follow the sapsucker to these wells and feed from the sap directly. The relationship - the sapsucker doing the drilling, other species benefiting - makes the Red-naped Sapsucker a keystone species in Rocky Mountain riparian systems.
It breeds in mountain forests from British Columbia to Nevada, favoring aspen groves at mid-elevations and riparian corridors. The drumming - a stuttering, irregular rhythm unlike the steady roll of other woodpeckers - carries through an aspen stand in April and announces the territory before the bird is ever seen.
The Red-naped Sapsucker is one of three closely related sapsuckers that hybridize where ranges overlap. The hybrid zones are studied by ornithologists and watched by birders. This print shows the clean adult male: the full red nape, the unambiguous pattern, the field mark that separates it from its relatives.
Paper and finish
Available in three sizes on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm - archival cotton, acid-free, matte finish. Printed by Prodigi using pigment inks rated 100+ years under display conditions. Also available as a high-resolution digital download at $9.
| Size | Unframed | Framed |
|---|---|---|
| 8 × 10 in | $39 | $99 |
| 16 × 20 in | $69 | $149 |
| 24 × 30 in | $99 | $199 |
Framed prints are glazed, no mat. Frame colours: black, white or natural.
