Nuttall's Woodpecker

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Nuttall's Woodpecker
The range of the Nuttall's Woodpecker lies west of the southern Cascade Mountains and in the Sierra Nevada from southern Oregon to northern Baja California. Nuttall's Woodpeckers are most common in the oak woodlands of northern California. In other more arid areas, these woodpeckers inhabit deciduous trees alongside streams as well as oak scrublands and chaparral.
Nuttall's Woodpecker Range Map

The Nuttall's Woodpecker closely resembles the more widespread Ladder-backed Woodpecker (P. scalaris). Ladder-backs occur in a variety of arid habitats including oak woodland, but in California, Nuttall's Woodpeckers apparently exclude the Ladder-backed Woodpecker from its preferred oak woodland habitat. Where the two species both occur in the same mountain range, Nuttall's Woodpeckers are found on the moister, west-facing slopes, with the Ladder-backed Woodpecker on the drier, east-facing slopes. Hybrids may occur where the ranges meet.

Nest holes are excavated in willow, alder, cottonwood, sycamore, or oak trees, and these are found anywhere from 2.5 feet to 60.0 feet above the ground. Between late March and mid-June, three to six eggs are laid and then incubated for about two weeks. Both sexes incubate, with the male doing the night shift. After about four weeks, the young leave the nest. The juvenal plumage is similar to the adult plumage, but duller and less distinct. This plumage remains until August.

Nuttall's Woodpeckers forage preferentially in oaks, but acorns make up only a small part of their diet. Insects such as beetles, caterpillars, ants, and bugs are sought among the dense foliage of trees and sometimes among yucca and mesquite. There is a sexual difference in foraging habits, with males tending to work on the trunk and larger branches, whereas females use smaller branches. Because they use similar niches, Nuttall's Woodpeckers will defend territories against another related, small woodpecker, the Downy Woodpecker (P. pubescens).

Description: Both Nuttall's and Ladder-backed woodpeckers are small woodpeckers with black-and-white barred backs, wings, and outer tails; they also have white undersides with spotted flanks. In both species, the male has a red crown and a black-and-white striped face. Nuttall's Woodpeckers have more black on the face and thicker bars on the back and outer tail feathers. The red on the Nuttall's head typically only extends to mid-crown, whereas the Ladder-back's extends to the forehead.

Nuttall's Woodpeckers behave like large nuthatches, foraging on the trunks and branches of oaks and other trees, creeping diagonally as they search in crevices and underneath bark. They often hang upside down under limbs as they probe for insect prey.

Visit Shaw Creek Bird Supply to see our selection of Nuttall's Woodpecker Feeders.