Quantcast

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Picoides tridactylusOrder: PICIFORMESFamily: Woodpeckers (Picidae)
American Three-toed Woodpecker Breeding Male Head Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: Dagger, All-purpose
  • Eye Color: Brown or gray -brown in hatch year and early second year birds developing to red-brown in older birds.
  • Head Pattern: Plain
  • Crown Color: Black with yellow cap.
  • Forehead Color: Black
  • Nape Color: Black
  • Throat Color: White
  • Cere color: No Data
American Three-toed Woodpecker Breeding Male Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 20-23 cm (8-9 in)
  • Weight: 71 g (2.5 oz)
  • Size: Size 2. Small (5 - 9 in)
  • Color: White, Black, Yellow
  • Underparts: White with heavy black barring.
  • Upperparts: Black with black and white barring on center of back.
  • Back Pattern: Barred or banded
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
American Three-toed Woodpecker Breeding Male Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Alternates several rapid wing beats with short glide with wings partially folded to sides.
  • Wingspan Range: 36-41 cm (14-16 in)
  • Wing Shape: Pointed-Wings
  • Tail Shape: No Data
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Black with white outer feathers and some black spotting.
  • Under Tail: Black with white outer feathers and some black spotting.
  • Leg Color: Black
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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.
Family
Species Picoides tridactylus
Length8 - 9 Inches
Wingspan15 Inches

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 Breeding Male 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