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Black woodpecker Patch#

They bring back both the larval and adult stages of different insects. Both parents retrieve food for the young from the home range surrounding the nest. After the young hatch, the parents continue to take shifts protecting the altricial young. ( Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2009 Dudley and Saab, 2007 Godfrey, 1986)īoth parents, though mainly the female, participate in incubating the eggs for 11 days until they hatch. A new nest is constructed every year and even though both parents contribute, the male seems to do most of the work. Before fertilization occurs, they both excavate the nest which is made up of decayed wood chips that remain in the bottom of the tree cavity.

Breeding season Black-backed woodpeckers breed from June to July.īoth male and female black-backed woodpeckers are actively involved in the development of their young.

Breeding interval Black-backed woodpeckers breed once yearly.

gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate).

( Bonnot, et al., 2008 Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2009 Dudley and Saab, 2007 Godfrey, 1986 Nappi and Drapeau, 2009) The young are altricial at birth, and will not fledge until they are 25 days old. Clutch size ranges from 2 to 6 eggs which are incubated, primarily by the female, for 12 to 14 days. They prepare the nest in the months of April and May, before fertilization occurs in June. They excavate nest cavities in trees on average 2.23 m from the ground averaging 30 cm deep. ( Corace III, et al., 2001 Godfrey, 1986 Pierson, et al., 2010)īlack-backed woodpeckers have a breeding distribution that corresponds to the size and range of the boreal and mountainous coniferous forests of North America. It also seems that once they form a pair they will rarely interact with other black-backed woodpeckers. Pair formation in this species is not well described, but it is believed that once a male and female form a pair they remain together year round. The males attract mates by raising the distinctive yellow crest feathers. They generally only breed once per breeding season although they have been known to re-nest if their first fails.

Range wingspan 12.3 to 13.4 cm 4.84 to 5.28 inīlack-backed woodpeckers are monogamous.

( Corace III, et al., 2001 Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2009 Dixon and Saab, 2010 Dunn, et al., 1999 Short, et al., 1983) Juveniles are duller and have reduced or absent yellow patches. The females however, are slightly lighter in color and have shorter bills. Males have been found to be approximately 6 to 7% larger than females.

Black woodpecker Patch#

Males have a yellow forehead crown patch which is the most distinguishable characteristic among males and females. Sexual dimorphism is present in the coloration and size of black-backed woodpeckers. Male black-backed woodpeckers and three-toed woodpeckers have a yellow patch of feathers on their forehead or crown. Three-toed woodpeckers have white barring on the back along with a white stripe of varying length behind the eye. The most likely other species to be mistaken as black-backed woodpeckers would be three-toed woodpeckers. Along with three-toed woodpeckers, these birds have two toes facing forwards, but only one backwards. These woodpeckers are one of two woodpecker species that feature 3 toes instead of the usual 4. Individuals weigh between 61 and 88 g and measure 21.5 to 24 cm in length. The head is glossy black and has a white stripe extending from the nasal tufts to the nape. The wings are also black with narrow white bars on them and span 12.3 to 13.4 cm.

The white sides and flanks are covered in black bars and the tail is mostly black, where only the outer feathers are white. ( Bonnot, et al., 2008 Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2009 Nappi and Drapeau, 2009 Pierson, et al., 2010 Setterington, et al., 2000 Villard, 1994)īlack-backed woodpeckers are medium-sized woodpeckers that have a glossy black back with white underparts. They are found at elevations of approximately 750 m. Black-backed woodpeckers are attracted to fire-prone habitats and prefer to be near or within recently burned forests. ( American Ornithologists' Union, 1983 Dunn, et al., 1999)īlack-backed woodpeckers inhabit boreal and montane forests of North America where they are able to forage for insect larvae in the trunks of coniferous trees. They occupy this range throughout the year but vagrants sometimes wander south to Nebraska, Illinois and New Jersey. Moving east from British Columbia their range extends to the northeast coast of the United States. Their range extends south through southeastern British Columbia to central California. The northern border of where they reside stretches from Alaska to Newfoundland and Labrador. Black-backed woodpeckers are non-migratory birds native to North America and the Nearctic Region.