Black-backed Woodpecker
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| Picoides arcticus (Swainson, 1832) |
The Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) is a medium-sized woodpecker.
Adults are black on the head, back, wings and rump. They are white from the throat to the belly; the flanks are white with black bars. Their tail is black with white outer feathers. Like the similar American Three-toed Woodpecker, this bird also has three-toed feet. The adult male has a yellow cap.
Their breeding habitat is boreal forest across Canada, Alaska and the north-western United States. They nest in a large cavity in a dead tree or a dead part of a tree. The pair usually excavate a new nest each year. The female lays 3 or 4 eggs.
This bird is normally a permanent resident, but may move around to find better feeding.
These birds remove bark from trees in search of insects or pick them up from the bark. They mainly eat insects, spiders, also fruit and nuts.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Picoides arcticus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
[edit] External Links
- Black-backed Woodpecker - Picoides arcticus - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Black-backed Woodpecker Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Black-backed Woodpecker Information - South Dakota Birds and Birding
