Three-toed Woodpecker Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
| Three-toed Woodpecker | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Picoides tridactylus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Adults are black on the head, wings and rump. They are white from the throat to the belly; the flanks are white with black bars. Their back is white with black bars. Their tail is black with white outer feathers barred with black. The adult male has a yellow cap.
In North America, the Three-toed Woodpecker can be confused with the Black-backed Woodpecker, which it closely resembles. Identification is easier in Eurasia, where it is the only woodpecker with a yellow cap, the only one with three toes, and one of only two black-and white woodpeckers which lacks any red in the plumage.
The breeding habitat is coniferous forests across western Canada, Alaska and the midwestern United States, and across northern Eurasia from Norway to Korea. There are also populations in the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains.
Recent research suggests that the American and Eurasian forms should be split as separate species, Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker, P. tridactylus and American Three-toed Woodpecker, P. dorsalis.
Three-toed Woodpeckers nest in a cavity in a dead conifer or sometimes a live tree or pole. The pair excavates a new nest each year.
This bird is normally a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south and birds at high elevations may move to lower leves 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. In North America, this bird is likely to give way to the Black-backed Woodpecker where the two species compete for habitat.
This is an Article on Three-toed Woodpecker. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Three-toed Woodpecker