Black-backed Woodpecker

Picoides arcticus

Order PICIFORMES - Family PICIDAE - Subfamily Picinae

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

An uncommon woodpecker of the northern coniferous forests, the Black-backed Woodpecker prefers burned-over sites. It moves from place to place, following outbreaks of wood-boring beetles in recently burned habitats.

Cool Facts

• A curious aspect of the Black-backed Woodpecker's distribution is its apparent absence from the central and southern Rocky Mountains. It reaches its southernmost distribution in Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota, while the American Three-toed Woodpecker ranges into isolated mountain ranges of Arizona and New Mexico. On the Pacific Coast, however, the American Three-toed Woodpecker rarely occurs as far southward as southern Oregon, while the Black-backed Woodpecker reaches the Sierra Nevada of central California.
• During the nonbreeding season, individual Black-backed Woodpeckers may move to areas south of the regular breeding range. Movements may be just a few wandering individuals or irruptions involving many birds. Winter records have occurred southward to Iowa, central Illinois, northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware. Irruptions have been attributed to a lack of wood-boring insect prey on their normal range or to overpopulation following an insect outbreak.

Description

• Size: 23 cm (9 in)
• Weight: 61-88 g (2.15-3.11 ounces)

• Medium-sized woodpecker.
• Back entirely black.
• Sides barred black-and-white.
• Throat, chest, and belly white.
• Face black with white and black mustache marks.
• Male with yellow cap.

• White face stripe extending from above bill to nape.
• Small white spot or line behind eyes; may be absent.
• Tail black with white outer tail feathers.
• Black wings marked with white spots on flight feathers.
• Bill slaty gray with lighter gray lower mandible.
• Eyes deep reddish.
• Legs and feet bluish gray.
• Only three toes on each foot.

Sex Differences

Male with yellow cap, female without.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult but duller, with dull black crown (yellow patch reduced or absent), and underparts washed buff.

Similar Species

• American Three-toed Woodpecker similar, but with white barring on back and hind neck, white line behind eye, weaker barring on flanks, and more white in wings.
• Hairy Woodpecker has much more white on head and neck, white down the middle of the back, more white in the wings, and no barring on flanks.

Sound

Calls a sharp "chek," and a harsh rattle. Drum long, slow, and accelerating.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident from Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland, southward to California, northern Wyoming, Wisconsin, northern New York, and Maine.

Habitat

Boreal and montane coniferous forests, especially areas with burned trees.

Food

Larvae of bark beetles and wood-boring beetles.

Behavior

Foraging

Forages on trunks and fallen logs. Strips bark from trees, probes, and excavates wood.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest in hole in trunk of tree; chips or wood fibers in bottom of cavity.

Egg Description

White.

Clutch Size

Usually 3-4 eggs. Range: 3-6.

Condition at Hatching

Naked and helpless.

Conservation Status

Considered a species of special concern in some states. Because of low densities and the ephemeral nature of its preferred habitat, true population estimates difficult to obtain.

Other Names

Pic à dos noir (French)
El pájaro carpintero de espalda negra (Spanish)
Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker, Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Dixon R. D., and V. A. Saab. 2000. Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus). In The Birds of North America, No. 509 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.