Species BirdsAmerican Three-toed Woodpecker

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Picoides dorsalis

UncommonBird
Illustration of American Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis)

The American Three-toed Woodpecker is a boreal woodpecker that, like the Black-backed Woodpecker, specializes in recently burned and insect-killed forests, scaling bark from dead trees to reach beetle larvae beneath. Its barred black-and-white back and three-toed feet (most woodpeckers have four) are distinctive. It is quieter and less commonly detected than most woodpeckers.

Habitat
Boreal and subalpine coniferous forests, especially burned areas
Diet
Wood-boring beetle larvae under bark of dead conifers
How common
Uncommon

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