American Three-toed Woodpecker

Picoides dorsalisOrder: PICIFORMESFamily: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

General

American Three-toed Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black-and-white barred upperparts, black head, yellow crown, white eye-line, throat, breast, and belly, and diagonally barred white flanks. Wings are black with white spots; rump is black; tail is black with white outer feathers. Female lacks yellow crown.

Range and Habitat

American Three-toed Woodpecker: Breeds from northern Alaska, across Canada's boreal regions, through northern Saskatchewan, to north-central Labrador and Newfoundland; also in Eurasia, south of the tree line in Scandinavia and Siberia. Prefers coniferous forests and burnt lands; less frequently found in mixed forests.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"mew", "pik"

Interesting Facts

In 2003 the “Three-toed Woodpecker” was split into the American Three-toed and Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker. Nearly identical in appearance, they differ in voice and mitochondrial DNA sequences.
They breed further north than any other American woodpecker.
Unlike most woodpeckers, they lack the inner hind toe on each foot.
A group of woodpeckers has many collective nouns, including a "descent", "drumming", and "gatling" of woodpeckers.

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Range Map for American Three-toed Woodpecker

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

American Three-toed Woodpecker

American Three-toed Woodpecker: Medium woodpecker with black-and-white barred upperparts, black head, yellow crown, white eye-line, throat, breast, and belly, and diagonally barred white flanks. Wings are black with white spots; rump is black; tail is black with white outer feathers.

● Song: "mew", "pik"

● Foraging & Feeding: American Three-toed Woodpecker: Eats larvae of tree-dwelling insects, spiders, some berries, and bark cambium; female forages higher than male.

● Breeding & nesting: American Three-toed Woodpecker: Three to six white eggs are laid in a nest made of bark chips built in a dead tree cavity, usually up to 45 feet above the ground; conifers and aspens are most frequently used. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: American Three-toed Woodpecker: Black-backed Woodpecker has solid black back. Hairy Woodpecker has unmarked white underparts, lacks barred sides and flanks, has a white back and black crown; male has red head patch.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid wing beats with short glide with wings partially folded to sides.

American Three-toed Woodpecker Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: American Three-toed Woodpecker: Breeds from northern Alaska, across Canada's boreal regions, through northern Saskatchewan, to north-central Labrador and Newfoundland; also in Eurasia, south of the tree line in Scandinavia and Siberia. Prefers coniferous forests and burnt lands; less frequently found in mixed forests.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight2.5 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America