b. _P. a. dorsalis_, _Alpine Three-toed Woodpecker_. More white on back and head than _P. americanus_, less than _alascensis_; but continuous, not barred. "Iris dark cherry-red" (Mearns). Rocky Mountain region, south to New Mexico and Arizona.
11. SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS, _Yellow-bellied Sapsucker_. Under parts whitish or pale sulphur yellow; upper parts black, mottled with pure or yellowish white; _rump white_; wings spotted, and with conspicuous white coverts; tail black with _outer webs of outer feathers_ and _inner webs of middle feathers light colored_; sides streaked; breast with a _broad black patch_ extending in a "chin-strap" to the corners of the mouth; sides of the head striped. Occiput black, nape white. [M] with forehead, crown, chin, and throat crimson; [F] usually with crown crimson, forehead black, and throat white, back more brownish; [F] sometimes, and young always, with crown blackish. 7.5-8.5 inches.
Colors vary much with age, sex, and season; the wing bar and yellowish tinge are good marks for all plumages; the rump and breast patch for adult birds. Eastern North America, breeding from Massachusetts northward, migrating in winter to the Southern States.
a. _S. v. nuchalis_, _Red-naped Sapsucker_. Similar, but an additional red stripe on nape, and the black chin-strap replaced by crimson. 8-8.5 inches. Rocky Mountains to Coast Range, replacing the above in the mountains; usually breeding at from 5000 to 10,000 feet elevation.
12. SPHYRAPICUS RUBER, _Red-breasted Sapsucker_. Body and under parts similar to _S. varius_, but back much less variegated with white. No black on breast, no white stripe through eyes. Nasal tufts brownish instead of white. _Head_, _neck_, and _breast uniform crimson_. _Sexes alike._ Young with crimson replaced by gray or "claret brown" (Bendire). 8.5-9 inches. Pacific coast, Sierra Nevada, and on both sides of Cascade Mountains; a summer resident only north of northern California. At first sight the Red-breasted Sapsucker might be mistaken for the Red-headed Woodpecker, but the two birds do not inhabit the same country.
13. SPHYRAPICUS THYROIDEUS, _Williamson's Sapsucker_.
Sexes totally dissimilar except in having a white rump and yellow under parts. _Male, glossy black all over except_ conspicuous _white rump_ and _white wing coverts_, two white stripes on sides of head, white nasal tufts, white spots on primaries; sides and tail coverts mottled; a stripe of scarlet down middle of throat and _brilliant yellow under parts_. _Female, light brown_; head clear brown; body, wings, and tail closely _barred_ with black and white; no white wing coverts; rarely a red throat like male; usually but not always a large black patch on breast, and always a _yellow belly_ and _white rump_. Young males lack the red on the throat and usually the yellow on the belly; the black is dull, and the throat a dingy white. Young females lack the yellow on the belly and the black on breast, and are dull-colored and indistinctly marked. 9-9.5 inches.