Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 7.9 in
20 cm - Weight
- 2.3 oz
65 g
Other Names
- Northern Three-toed Woodpecker, Three-toed Woodpecker
- Pic à dos rayé (French)
- Carpintero de tres dedos (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The American Three-toed Woodpecker breeds farther north than any other American woodpecker. The closely related Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker is the only woodpecker in the world that extends farther north.
- The "Three-toed Woodpecker" was split in 2003 into the American Three-toed and Eurasian Three-toed woodpeckers. The two species are nearly identical in appearance, but differ in mitochondrial DNA sequences and in voice.
- Most woodpeckers have four toes on each foot. The three-toed and Black-backed woodpeckers have only three. The loss of the fourth toe may help deliver stronger blows, but at the expense of climbing ability.
Habitat
Forest
- Boreal and montane coniferous forests, especially mature forests with abundance of insect-infested snags or dying trees, and spruce forests.
- Uses forests disturbed by disease, fire, or other disasters.
Food
Insects
Larvae of bark beetles and wood-boring beetles.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 3–7 eggs
- Egg Description
- White, rather round.
- Condition at Hatching
- Naked and helpless.
Nest Description
Nest in hole in trunk of tree; chips or wood fibers in bottom of cavity.
Nest Placement
Cavity
Behavior
Bark Forager
Forages mostly on trunks, not branches or fallen logs. Strips bark from trees.
Conservation
Least Concern
Sensitive to forest fragmentation. Timber harvest may lead to decline. Species of concern in several states.
Credits
- Banks, R. C., et al. 2003. Forty-fourth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 120: 923-931.
- Leonard, D. L., Jr. 2001. Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus). In The Birds of North America, No. 588 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.