Nuttall's woodpecker
Picoides nuttallii
Identification Tips:
- Small black and white woodpecker
- Black head
- White postocular stripe curves around to almost meet white
moustachial stripe and appears as a pale border to dark auriculars
- White throat, breast, and belly
- Small amounts of black spotting on sides of breast and flanks
- Black back barred with white does not extend to black nape
- Black wings with white spotting on coverts and flight feathers
- Black rump
- Black tail with white outer tail feathers barred with black
Adult male:
- Red crown
- Extensive black forehead
Adult female:
- Black forehead, crown, cap, and hindneck
Similar species:
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers have solid white backs and lack
the spotting on the breast and flanks. Nuttall's Woodpecker has
black auriculars bordered incompletely by white, a cleaner white
breast, a different amount of red on the head of the male, less
barring on the back, and less spotting on the flanks in comparison
to the Ladder-backed Woodpecker. However, hybrids are known
between these two species so identify each with caution in the
narrow zone of overlap.