On 26 June 1973 I saw an adult Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) fly across a small meadow accompanied by another sapsucker so different from the former that it aroused my curiosity. The meadow is near Lee Vining Creek at about 7200 feet elevation on the east side of the Sierra Nevada and only a short distance off the Tioga Pass Road in Mono County, California.
On 1 July I again located this pair in dense Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) and Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) along Lee Vining Creek. It was apparent I had a mixed pair of birds, the mate being a Red-naped Sapsucker (S. nuchalis). The latter was identified as a female by its white chin and upper throat. After watching them for a short time I located their nest in an Aspen (Figure 1). The nest cavity was about four feet off the ground on the south side of the trunk and had clearly been made that year since the ground below was heavily littered with fresh wood chippings. Both birds were seen entering the nest cavity with food, and the voices of young birds were heard.