American three-toed woodpecker

Three-toed woodpecker
adult male
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Picidae
Genus:	Picoides
Species:	P. dorsalis
Binomial name
Picoides dorsalis Baird, 1858
American three-toed woodpecker range.[2] A small portion of the Eurasian three-toed woodpecker P. tridactylus range is visible too.[n 1]
Eurasian and American three-toed woodpeckers ranges.[2][n 1]

The American three-toed woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis) is a medium-sized

This woodpecker has a length of 21 cm (8.3 in), a wingspan of 38 cm (15 in), and an average weight of 55 g (1.9 oz); its maximum lifespan in the wild is 6 years.[3] It closely resembles the black-backed woodpecker, which is also three-toed. Until recently, it was considered to be the same species as the Eurasian three-toed woodpecker, P. tridactylus.^[4] Adults are black on the head, wings and rump, and white from the throat to the belly; the flanks are white with black bars. The back is white with black bars and the tail is black with the white outer feathers barred with black. The adult male has a yellow cap.

Breeding

The breeding habitat is

This bird is normally a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south and birds at high elevations may move to lower levels in winter. Three-toed woodpeckers forage on conifers in search of wood-boring beetle larvae or other insects. They may also eat fruit and tree sap. These birds often move into areas with large numbers of insect-infested trees, often following a forest fire or flooding. This bird is likely to give way to the black-backed woodpecker where the two species compete for habitat.

Subspecies

• Picoides dorsalis dorsalis, nominate Western race.
• Picoides dorsalis fasciatus, Rocky Mountain race.

Notes

References