Nuttall's Woodpecker

Picoides nuttallii

Order PICIFORMES - Family PICIDAE

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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

A small woodpecker confined primarily to the oak woodlands of California.

Cool Facts

• Although Nuttall's Woodpeckers are nearly confined to oak woodlands, they do not eat acorns.

Description

• Size: 16-18 cm (6-7 in)
• Weight: 30-45 g (1.06-1.59 ounces)

• Small black-and-white woodpecker.
• Black-and-white barred back, with unbarred black region at top of back.

• Black face with white malar stripe and a white stripe over the eye going back to the nape of the neck.
• Throat, breast, and belly white.
• Spots and streaks of black along sides and under tail.
• Outer tail feathers white with black spots.

Sex Differences

Male with red on back of head, female black.

Male

Male with forehead black, streaked with white on center of crown, red on rear crown and upper nape.

Female

Female with forehead, crown, and nape black with some white streaking.

Immature

Juveniles of both sexes have red on crown. Red feathering is less extensive than on adult male.

Similar Species

• Downy Woodpecker has pure white in the middle of the back, pure white underparts, no white streaking on crown, and the black eye and malar stripes do not join.
• Ladder-backed Woodpecker is paler, more white on back, has larger white stripes on face (a white face with black stripes, not a black face with white stripes like Nuttall's), barring rather than spots on outer tail feathers, and more extensive red on the head of the male, extending up to the forehead.

Sound

Call note a double "pitik."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Resident from northern California southward to northwestern Baja California, west of the deserts and the Sierra divide.

Habitat

Found primarily in oak woodlands and in riparian woods; rarely in conifers.

Detailed Habitat

For a discussion of distribution and habitat use, go here.

Food

Insects and arthropods, some fruit.

Behavior

Foraging

Forages by gleaning, probing, prying and tapping.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest in cavity in trees.

Egg Description

White eggs

Clutch Size

3-6 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Young hatch naked and helpless.

Conservation Status

This woodpecker is of moderate conservation importance, primarily because of its limited range, low overall density, and its association with intact oak and riparian forests. As a primary cavity nester, this species provides nest sites for many other species in these forests. Populations appear to be stable at present, and this species is common and somewhat tolerant of human activity.

Other Names

Pic de Nuttall (French)
Carpintero de Nuttall, Carpintero californiano (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Lowther, P. E. 2000. Nuttall's Woodpecker (Picoides nuttallii). In  The Birds of North America, No. 555 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.