Black-backed Woodpeckers have solid black upperparts, black tails with white outer tail feathers, light breasts, and dark barring on their sides and flanks. Downy and hairy woodpeckers are particularly fond of this all-around favorite. The White-headed woodpecker is a non-migratory bird that resides in pine forests of the mountains of western North America. When in the tree Red-headed woodpeckers are able to move upwards, backward, or sideways, but never with their head downwards. Red-headed woodpeckers can excavate a cavity measuring up to 20-60 centimeters (7.8-23.5 in) in depth. Sap is a popular food in the spring when few other foods are available but rich, sweet sap is rising in trees reawakening after a long winter. Because woodpeckers are a bit bigger than the average songbird, you should serve sunflower seeds in a hopper or platform feeder to give them easy access. Black Oil Sunflower Seeds. Where the two species occur together, Black-backed Woodpeckers are usually dominant. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Coast.It is the largest common woodpecker in the U.S., possibly second to the critically endangered or extinct ivory-billed. Both members of the pair excavate a new nest cavity every year. Both feed the young, which leave the nest after about 24 days. They are strongly attracted to burns and arrive within a few months of fires. The nest is located in a dead or dying conifer tree, on a branch, or on a utility pole, usually near the edge of a forest opening. Peanut Butter If you find the information on BirdWeb useful, please consider supporting Seattle Audubon. View full list of Washington State's Species of Special Concern. The young are dependent on the parents for a few weeks after they fledge. Red-Headed Woodpecker. Take Merlin with you in the field! Image: Larysa Johnston | publicdomainpictures.net. Comprehensive life histories for all bird species and families. Nearly synonymous with burned forests over much of its range, the Black-backed Woodpecker specializes on eating big, juicy wood-boring beetle larvae. Song is a rollicking, rhythmic series of rather dry, husky yelps, somewhat reminiscent of chickens or deranged laughing, that often starts up seemingly out of nowhere. They eat some other insects and some fruit as well. The pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. Although resident in many areas, with no regular latitudinal migration, Black-backed Woodpeckers are irruptive and may travel long distances in search of recent burns or other sites where food is plentiful. Both sexes typically incubate the 3 to 4 eggs for 12 to 14 days and brood the young for the first few days after they hatch. Many, especially males, have small patches of red or yellow on their heads. A few woodpeckers feed on ants, nuts, or flying insects. In Washington, they can be found at moderate to high elevations, but they will come down into the Ponderosa pine zone after forest fires there. Black-naped woodpecker. 4. 3. Diet: Wood-boring insects and nuts which they are known to cache in the fall. Eye-searingly bright woodpecker decked out in primary colors. Males also have a bright red crown patch. They are often detected by their foraging taps, bark prying, and drumming. It has a black body, white head, and white primary feathers that form a crescent in flight. 4. The size of any local population fluctuates with changing feeding conditions. Further specialization has produced many aberrant forms with different behavior and feeding habits. Males also have a bright red crown patch. They are slightly larger than Three-toed woodpeckers and can be distinguished from them by their solid black backs. Although they may appear to damage trees, woodpeckers are generally good for tree health because they feed so heavily on wood-boring beetles. Most use their strong claws and stiff tail feathers to brace themselves against tree trunks as they climb. Most birds in this group are adapted for climbing and perching in trees and range widely in size. Length: 7.5-9.1 in Weight: 2.0-3.2 oz Wingspan: 16.5 in. Black-backed Woodpeckers feed principally on wood-boring beetle larvae. Downy and hairy woodpeckers are particularly fond of this all-around favorite. Free, global bird ID and field guide app powered by your sightings and media. Moves about in small noisy bands. Fire suppression and logging practices that do not leave diseased or dying timber in the forests have negative impacts on the population of Black-backed Woodpeckers. Combination of black face, pale eyes, yellow throat, green wings, bright red rump, and white belly is unmistakable. When large parts of Europe and Asia were deforested its population declined and it’s still struggling in some areas such as the Pyrenees, but with the restoration of wide forested areas the number of Black Woodpecker have increased in many part of Europe. Black Oil Sunflower Seeds. Recent burns are the best places to search for this elusive bird.Click here to visit this species' account and breeding-season distribution map in Sound to Sage, Seattle Audubon's on-line breeding bird atlas of Island, King, Kitsap, and Kittitas Counties.