Black-backed Woodpecker
Picoides arcticus
Dark woodpecker, inconspicuous and uncommon. Found in coniferous forests, often in recently burned areas or bogs with many dead trees. Distinctive habit of flaking bark off trees in search of grubs; behavior shared only with American Three-toed Woodpecker. Back entirely glossy black with faint white markings only on flight feathers. Head mostly black with white mustache stripe and throat. Barred flanks. Males show yellow cap; sexes otherwise alike. "Pick" call is short and has unique clicking tone unlike other woodpeckers. Drum is slow, speeding up at end. Does not visit bird feeders.
Identification
The plumage of adults is black on the head, back, wings and rump. They are white from the throat to the belly; the flanks are white with black bars. Their tail is black with white outer feathers. There is an element of sexual dimorphism in the plumage, with the adult male possessing a yellow cap. Unlike all other woodpeckers except the related American and Eurasian three-toed woodpeckers, this species has three-toed feet.<p>Measurements:
Taxonomy
The black-backed woodpecker was described and illustrated by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1832 from a specimen collected near the source of the Athabasca River on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada. He coined the binomial name Picus arcticus. The specific epithet arcticus is the Latin word for "northern" or "arctic". The black-backed woodpecker is now placed in the genus Picoides which was erected by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Picoides arcticus
- Authority
- (Swainson, 1832)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Picoides
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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