Williamson's Sapsucker - Subspecies

Subspecies

• Sphyrapicus thyroideus nataliae (Malherbe, 1854)
• Sphyrapicus thyroideus thyroideus (Cassin, 1852)

In the nineteenth century, the males and females of this sapsucker were believed to be separate species. The female was first described 1852 as Picus thyroideus, and the male was described in 1857 (Newberry) as Picus williamsonii. Baird appropriated the name Sphyrapicus as the genus for both in 1858. In 1873 Henry Henshaw clarified this matter and recognized them as the same species. This is also summarized in Robert Ridgway's 'The Birds of North and Middle America, Part 6' (1914).