Picoides arcticus
The Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) is a strikingly marked medium-sized woodpecker, measuring 23-25 cm (9-10 inches) in length with a wingspan of 40-42 cm (15.5-16.5 inches) and weighing 60-80 grams. Its most distinctive feature is a solid, unbarred glossy black back contrasting sharply with a pure white belly and flanks that are subtly barred with black. Males sport a vibrant yellow crown patch, absent in females, making sexual dimorphism clear and a key field mark. Closely relat...
Exclusively found in coniferous forests, particularly preferring recently burned or beetle-infested stands of spruce, fir, and pine at various elevations, where standing dead or dying trees (snags) are abundant.
Primarily consumes the larvae of wood-boring beetles, especially cerambycids and buprestids, which they extract from dead or dying trees; also eats adult beetles, ants, and other insects.
Black-backed Woodpeckers are generally solitary and highly specialized foragers, spending their days meticulously scaling bark from dead or dying trees to uncover the galleries of wood-boring beetle larvae. Their unique three-toed foot structure and robust bill aid in their powerful, chisel-like ...
The Black-backed Woodpecker inhabits the boreal and sub-boreal coniferous forests across North America. Its primary breeding range extends from Alaska and across Canada, south through the northern contiguous United States, including the northern Great Lakes states, northern New England, and the w...
Least Concern
- The Black-backed Woodpecker is one of only two North American woodpeckers (the other being the American Three-toed Woodpecker) to have just three toes, an adaptation believed to enhance climbing efficiency on snags. - They are often called "fire woodpeckers" due to their strong association with...