Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus)

Special Segments Butterflies of North America Conifers of North America Eastern Birds List of N.A. Insects Home Eastern Wildflowers General Topics Natural History Ecology Family Environment Evolution Home Education Home Conservation Geophysics Paleontology Commercial Organizations

A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

Return to Eastern Woodpeckers

Color Photograph: U.S. Forest Service

Male

Female

Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 9 inches.

Male: Crown of the head black with a dorsal yellow patch. Dorsal side of the head black. Lower side of head white with a black line from the base of the bill to the rear of the neck. A thin, short white line from the rear margin of the eye. Back solid black. Apical third of wing with white stripes. Neck, breast, and abdomen white with diffuse black lines along the sides.

Female: Similar to the male but without a yellow cap on the top of the head.

Similar Species:  The Three-toed Woodpecker is similar. However the Three-toed Woodpecker has a ladderlike pattern of black and white lines on its back. The white line from the rear of the eye is thin, but stronger and longer. Both the Downy Woodpecker and the Hairy Woodpecker have white blacks and the side of the head is primarily white. The white striping on the wings of these two species are stronger and occupy a larger proportion of the wing. The back of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker has a ladderlike pattern of black and white stripes and the side of the head is primarily white.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Black-backed Woodpecker is a resident of the coniferous boreal forest of North America extending southward into the montane coniferous forests of the western United States.

Overwintering Range:  See above.

Habitat:  Coniferous forest particularly recently burned, logged, or swampy areas.

Food: Wood boring insects.

Behavior: In common with most other woodpeckers, the Black-backed Woodpecker makes its living drilling holes in trees and extracting insect larvae with its barbed tongue. The species is tame, but not common anywhere. The voice is a sharp kyik or a rattle.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 4 white eggs in a tree cavity. The tree hole is usually close to the ground.