Native Talk Tuesday #23

For today's Native Talk Tuesday, we have a bird and a woodland plant.

The bird featured in today's Native Talk Tuesday is Sphyrapicus ruber, commonly known as the Red-breasted Sapsucker. This species of sapsucker is found year-round in the coniferous and mixed forests of the Pacific Northwest--that is, from Northern California to southeast Alaska, west of the Cascadian and Canadian Coastal Ranges. The woodpecker below was seen at Silver Falls State Park, east of Salem, Oregon.
 

The plant featured in today's Native Talk Tuesday is Viola glabella, commonly known as the Stream Violet. Also known as the Yellow Wood Violet, this plant is identified due to its five yellow petals, with the lower three having dark purple lines. These lines are said to help guide pollinators to the correct spot on the flower. Found moist forests along streams, trails, and clearings, the Stream Violet can be confused with the Trailing Yellow Violet, which looks exactly the same to the untrained eye. What makes the Stream Violet different is the dark purple lines on its lower three petals--the Trailing Yellow Violet has violet (light purple) lines. The plant in the picture below was found at Silver Falls State Park, east of Salem in early April.