White-headed Woodpecker

Picoides albolarvatusOrder: PICIFORMES Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Codes: Common Name: WHWO Scientific Name: PICALB ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178256

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous, Mountains

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Fairly common in coniferous range

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

3 - 7

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Few wood chips in tree.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

General

White-headed Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker, mostly black with large white wing patches. Head and throat are white; nape patch is red. Female lacks red nape patch.

Range and Habitat

White-headed Woodpecker: Resident from extreme south-central British Columbia, northeastern Washington, and Idaho, south to southern California and western Nevada. Some birds migrate down mountain slopes in the winter. Ponderosa pine belts in mountains are the preferred habitat.

Breeding and Nesting

White-headed Woodpecker: Three to seven white eggs are laid in a nest cavity in a pine stub or snag, often close to the ground. Both parents incubate eggs for about 14 days.

Foraging and Feeding

White-headed Woodpecker: Feeds on insects and conifer seeds. Peers into cracks of bark and probes crevices with tongue; generally forages on cones in late summer or winter.

Readily Eats

Suet, Sunflower Seed, Nuts, Sugar Water, Fruit

Vocalization

White-headed Woodpecker: Usually silent; call is a sharp "pee-dink" or a more prolonged "pee-dee-dee-dink."

Similar Species

White-headed Woodpecker: Acorn Woodpecker has white rump and belly, and black on face and crown.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

White-headed Woodpecker

White-headed Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker, mostly black with large white wing patches. Head and throat are white; nape patch is red and narrow. Small black stripe behind the eye. Bill is black and small. Legs and feet are black. This is the only North American woodpecker with a white head.

● Song: "pee-dink", "pee-dee-dee-dink"

● Foraging & Feeding: White-headed Woodpecker: Feeds on insects and conifer seeds. Peers into cracks of bark and probes crevices with tongue; generally forages on cones in late summer or winter.

● Breeding & nesting: White-headed Woodpecker: Three to seven white eggs are laid in a nest cavity in a pine stub or snag, often close to the ground. Both parents incubate eggs for about 14 days.

● Similar species: White-headed Woodpecker: Acorn Woodpecker has white rump and belly, and black on face and crown.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several deep flaps with glides.

White-headed Woodpecker Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: White-headed Woodpecker: Resident from extreme south-central British Columbia, northeastern Washington, and Idaho, south to southern California and western Nevada. Some birds migrate down mountain slopes in the winter. Ponderosa pine belts in mountains are the preferred habitat.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationFairly common in coniferous range

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight2.2 Ounces

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America