Black-backed Woodpecker
Picoides arcticus
Visual Identification
Appearance
The Black-backed Woodpecker is a striking bird with glossy black upperparts, contrasting sharply with its white underparts. Its head features distinctive white stripes behind the eyes and on the sides, while the wings display small white spots.
Males have bright yellow crown patches, which are absent in females. Juveniles resemble adults but have a duller plumage and, in males, a smaller yellow crown patch. The bird's stiff tail feathers aid in climbing and foraging on tree trunks.
Size
Length
21cm to 24cm
Wingspan
40cm to 44cm
Weight
61g to 88g
Habitat and Distribution
Habitats
Woodland
Garden
Wetland
Coastal
Urban
Farmland
Grassland
Desert
Tundra
Rainforest
Mountain
Savanna
Distribution
Black-backed Woodpeckers inhabit coniferous and mixed forests across northern North America, from Alaska to Newfoundland, and south into the northern United States. They strongly prefer recently burned forests or areas affected by insect outbreaks.
In the United States, they are found in higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and northern New England. Their distribution is closely tied to the availability of their preferred habitats, which can shift with fire and insect disturbance patterns.
Elevation Range
Sea level to 3,100 meters
Climate zones
Boreal, Temperate
Distribution Map
This map gives you a rough idea of where you might spot a Black-backed Woodpecker. The coloured areas show countries where these birds have been seen.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Birds might not be everywhere in the coloured areas, for example, they may be present around the coast of that country
- Where birds live can change with seasons and available food
- This map is quite simple - it doesn't show exact locations
We're working on making our maps even better! Soon, we hope to show you:
- More detailed maps for bigger countries, including state and region
- How birds move around during different seasons
Distribution by Region
Behaviour and Ecology
Bird Attributes
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Share your thoughtsBird Attributes Explained
Our bird attributes system rates various aspects of a bird's capabilities on a scale of 0-100, based on data from field observations, scientific studies, and expert knowledge.
Attribute Categories:
- Agility: Manoeuvrability, speed, and grace in flight or movement.
- Strength: Physical power, often correlating with size and hunting abilities.
- Adaptability: Ability to thrive in various environments or changing conditions.
- Aggressiveness: Territorial behaviour and assertiveness, particularly during breeding seasons.
- Endurance: Stamina, often seen in migration patterns or foraging behaviours.
Understanding the Ratings:
- 0-20: Very Low
- 21-40: Low
- 41-60: Average
- 61-80: High
- 81-100: Very High
Remember, these attributes are relative to other bird species and don't necessarily indicate superiority.
Hover over the icon next to each attribute for more information.
Tap the icon next to each attribute for more information.
Agility
Reflects the bird's manoeuvrability, speed, and grace in flight or movement.
The Black-backed Woodpecker demonstrates remarkable agility in its ability to navigate vertical tree trunks and branches with ease. Its zygodactyl feet and stiff tail feathers provide excellent grip and balance, allowing for nimble movements whilst foraging and nesting.
Strength
Indicates the bird's physical power, often correlating with size and hunting abilities.
Whilst not exceptionally strong for its size, this woodpecker possesses sufficient strength to excavate nesting cavities in dead or dying trees and to strip large sections of bark when foraging. Its specialised anatomy enables it to deliver powerful blows when drumming or feeding.
Adaptability
Represents the bird's ability to thrive in various environments or changing conditions.
Highly adaptable, the Black-backed Woodpecker thrives in recently burned forests and areas affected by insect outbreaks. Its ability to exploit these disturbed habitats and its specialised feeding technique demonstrate remarkable adaptability to changing environmental conditions.
Aggressiveness
Measures the bird's territorial behaviour and assertiveness, particularly during breeding seasons.
Generally not overly aggressive, Black-backed Woodpeckers maintain year-round territories and will defend nesting sites. However, they are described as quiet and methodical in their behaviour, suggesting a moderate level of aggression primarily focused on territorial and breeding activities.
Endurance
Reflects the bird's stamina, often seen in migration patterns or foraging behaviours.
The Black-backed Woodpecker exhibits good endurance, spending hours foraging on tree trunks and maintaining year-round territories across a wide elevation range (from sea level to 3000 metres). Their ability to thrive in harsh boreal climates also indicates solid endurance, though specific data on long-distance movements is limited.
Diet
The Black-backed Woodpecker's diet primarily consists of wood-boring beetle larvae, particularly those of the families Cerambycidae and Buprestidae. They also consume other insects, fruits, and occasionally tree sap.
Their specialized foraging technique involves flaking off large sections of bark to access their prey. Plant matter, including wild berries and tree nuts, account for just over 10 percent of their diet.
Behaviour
Black-backed Woodpeckers are known for their quiet, methodical foraging behavior. They spend hours stripping bark from dead or dying trees, searching for wood-boring beetle larvae.
These birds are generally solitary outside the breeding season, maintaining year-round territories in suitable habitats.
Vocalisation
The Black-backed Woodpecker's vocalizations are relatively quiet compared to other woodpeckers. Their call is a sharp, metallic 'kyik' or a softer 'pik'.
Their drumming is distinctive, consisting of slow, widely spaced taps that accelerate slightly at the end, often described as 'bronk-bronk-bronk-bronk-bronkbrronkrrr'.
Nesting & Breeding
Black-backed Woodpeckers form monogamous pairs during the breeding season, typically from late April to early May. Courtship involves drumming displays and chasing flights around potential nesting trees.
Nests are excavated in dead or dying trees, usually conifers, at heights of 1.5 to 15 meters. The cavity is lined with wood chips, and the female lays 2-6 white eggs.
Both parents share incubation duties for about 12-14 days. Nestlings fledge after 21-25 days but may continue to be fed by parents for several weeks after leaving the nest.
Conservation and Status
Global Conservation Status
While currently listed as Least Concern, Black-backed Woodpeckers face potential threats from fire suppression practices and salvage logging in post-fire habitats.
Conservation efforts focus on maintaining natural fire regimes and preserving snags in burned areas to ensure suitable foraging and nesting sites.
Birdwatching Tips
- Look for recently burned coniferous forests or areas with beetle infestations
- Listen for their distinctive drumming, which is slower and more irregular than other woodpeckers
- Observe tree trunks for large, rectangular patches of stripped bark, a sign of their foraging activity
- In the US and Canada, focus on boreal forests and higher elevations in western mountains
Additional Information
Quick Facts
Predators
Did You Know?
- Black-backed Woodpeckers can hear beetle larvae moving under tree bark.
- They have zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward and two backward, perfect for gripping tree bark.
- These woodpeckers play a crucial role in post-fire forest ecology by controlling wood-boring beetle populations.
FAQs
What attracts Black-backed Woodpeckers?
The main prey of black-backed woodpeckers is the larvae of wood-boring beetles, so they thrive in habitats with concentrations of dead or dying trees.
Forested landscapes recovering after extensive fires are closely associated with the species, with black-backed woodpeckers quick to take advantage of the wide availability of insects among the decaying wood.
What trees do Black-backed Woodpeckers prefer?
Coniferous forests are a favorite of black-backed woodpeckers, with a variety of different species used for nesting. These include Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, spruce, fir, and hemlock. Larch, aspen, and cedar may also be chosen.
Do Black-backed Woodpeckers harm trees?
Many of the trees in the most common habitats of black-backed woodpeckers have already sustained significant damage, particularly those that have been burned in wildfires, so their presence and excavation of nesting chambers won’t contribute a significant level of extra harm.
In some cases, the opposite is true, with the arrival of black-headed woodpeckers to areas that have been razed by flames bringing new life and being an important part of the woodland regeneration process.
Do Black-backed Woodpeckers go to bird feeders?
Black-backed woodpeckers do not visit backyard feeders. They are able to meet all of their dietary requirements in the wild, particularly in burned forests and other wooded landscapes ravaged by fire.
How do Black-backed woodpeckers benefit from fires?
In the aftermath of forest fires across the US, it has been noted that black-backed woodpeckers quickly colonize these burned expanses of woodland and thrive in the charred remains of trees.
Trees that are killed or damaged by fire offer an ideal nesting habitat for black-backed woodpeckers to carve out their cavities. Such areas also prove to be a magnet for wood-boring beetles to feast on the decaying trunks and branches of burned trees, which in turn leads to a booming food resource for woodpeckers.
References
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website: BirdLife International. 2016. Picoides arcticus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22681181A92895828.
View source - 2
website, 2022: Partners in Flight
View source
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