Ladder-backed Woodpecker Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are small woodpeckers with a square head, short neck, and stiff tail that they lean against for support. The bill is rather small but straight and chisel-like.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Downy Woodpecker, smaller than a Hairy Woodpecker.

  between sparrow and robin

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)
    • Weight: 0.7-1.7 oz (21-48 g)
    • Wingspan: 13.0 in (33 cm)
• Color Pattern

  Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are black-and-white above, with neat stripes like ladder rungs on the back, and a more checkered pattern on the wings. The underparts are buffy white or grayish, stippled with black. The buffy white face is broken by black lines that extend from the bill and eye and join at the neck. Males have mostly red crowns; females have blackish crowns.

• Behavior

  Ladder-backed Woodpeckers forage by hitching around branches, pecking at bark or other spots that might hold insects or larvae. Most of the time they stay hidden in vegetation as they forage and are usually detected first by their calls or by their rapid drumming on trees. Their flight is rapid, with an undulating pattern, but they don’t tend to fly for long periods.

• Habitat

  Ladder-backed Woodpeckers live in very dry habitats such as deserts, desert scrub, thorn forest, and pinyon-juniper woodlands.