Last Saturday afternoon I spotted a woodpecker in our yard that I couldn’t identify. Both my Audubon Society field guide and the Cornell University Ornithology site had nothing that looked like it.

Any of you birders know what it is?

Update 11 PM: Most of the folks on the CarolinaBirding mailing list think its a yellow-bellied sapsucker, though not everyone agrees. According to the Cornell site, these birds are supposed to have a distinctive white stripe running down their side. Also, this one’s crown is black rather than red. Other than that it looks to be a female YB sapsucker, perhaps an immature one.

Jeff Pippen said this:

Wow Mark, that is one funky woodpecker. Perhaps a Hairy X Y-b Sapsucker hybrid?

Dave Magpiong of Bellmawr, NJ had this to say:

At first look, the overall impression (shape, posture, majority of plumage, etc.) comes across as female YB sapsucker. However, there are variations that I’m not familiar with – i.e. black on crown, missing that trademark white patch on the wing coverts.

My gut call goes for YB sapsucker but very curious to hear what others think!

Here’s a photo of a similar YB sapsucker also missing the white stripe (but including the red crown). Maybe mine is a mutant after all.

Thanks to everyone for weighing in!