_Egg dates._--Alberta: 19 records, May 20 to June 18; 10 records, May 30 to June 11, indicating the height of the season. California: 13 records, May 12 to June 21; 7 records, May 30 to June 9. Colorado: 19 records, May 27 to June 15; 10 records, June 4 to 12. Illinois: 5 records, April 20 to June 3. Nova Scotia: 14 records, May 28 to June 15; 7 records, June 5 to 10. Oregon: 24 records, May 12 to June 12; 12 records, May 25 to June 2. SPHYRAPICUS VARIUS NUCHALIS Baird RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER HABITS The western race of the eastern yellow-bellied sapsucker occupies an extensive range in the general region of the Rocky Mountains, chiefly east of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges, from central British Columbia and Alberta to western Texas and Arizona. Ridgway (1914) gives a full description of this form, which is worth quoting in view of his remarks as to its status; he describes it as-- Similar to _S. v. varius_, but with much less white on back, this forming two definite but broken stripes, converging posteriorly; nape always with more or less of red, under parts less strongly tinged with yellow, and wing and tail averaging decidedly longer; adult male with red of throat more extended, both laterally and posteriorly, covering malar region (except anterior portion), where meeting white sub-auricular stripe; adult female with at least lower half of throat red (sometimes whole throat red, only the chin being white); young much darker above than corresponding stage of _S. v. varius_, the pileum dark sooty slate, white markings on back less brownish, and under parts much less yellowish, the chest and foreneck brownish gray or grayish brown (instead of buffy brown), and usually less distinctly barred or lunulated with dusky. On account of the conspicuous difference in coloration of the young, definite difference in color pattern of back, head, and neck in adults, and comparative rarity of intermediate specimens (which are far less common, relatively, than in the case of _Colaptes_), I believe that it would be better to consider this form as specifically distinct from _S. varius_. It is true that specimens do occur that are intermediate between _S. nuchalis_ and _S. varius_, as well as between the former and if _S. ruber_; but they may be (and I believe they are) hybrids; certainly there is no more reason for not considering them as such than in the case of _Colaptes_; and if _S. nuchalis_ is to be considered as merely a subspecies of _S. varius_ then, most certainly, must _S. ruber_ also. Mr. Ridgway (1877) says of its haunts: