Strickland's Woodpecker
Dryobates stricklandi
Medium-sized woodpecker of high elevation pine and pine-oak woods endemic to central Mexico. Smaller than Hairy Woodpecker, which often occurs in the same areas; no range overlap with Arizona Woodpecker. Told from Hairy Woodpecker by big dark cheek spot on white face, dark brown (not blackish) upperparts with dark bars on white back patch, and extensive dark streaking and spotting on the underparts.
Identification
Strickland's woodpeckers grow to be about 7 to 8 inches in length, and are mainly brown and white in color. They are brown on top with a dark rump and have white underparts speckled with many brown spots. Strickland's woodpeckers usually have three white bars on their wings, and have two white stripes across their face which join with another white bar on their neck. Male Strickland's woodpeckers also have a red patch on the nape of their head which is lacking on females.<p>The nest of this species is in a cavity excavated from a dead tree trunk. The female lays three to four white eggs on a bed of wood chips, but other details of nesting periods and duration are mostly unknown.
Taxonomy
Strickland's woodpecker was first described by the French ornithologist Alfred Malherbe in 1845 and given its current name which commemorates the British scientist Hugh Edwin Strickland. Some taxonomic authorities, including the American Ornithological Society, continue to place this species in the genus Picoides.
- Scientific name
- Dryobates stricklandi
- Authority
- (Malherbe, 1845)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Dryobates
Range and habitat
A quiet and shy bird, Strickland's woodpeckers are fairly common in their limited range, usually found in pine forests and mixed pine-oak slopes at heights of about 4,500 to 7,000 feet. The Strickland's woodpecker's range generally follows a thin east–west band in central Mexico from Michoacán to Veracruz.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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