Ladder-backed Woodpecker - BirdForum Opus

Male D. s. cactophilus
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, Edinburg, Hidalgo County, Texas, USA, April 2019

Dryobates scalaris

Picoides scalaris; Dendrocopos scalaris; Picus scalaris

Identification

Female D. s. cactophilus
Photo © by bobsofpa
Ash Canyon, Arizona, USA, 29 April 2010

16.5 to 19 cm (6½ to 7½ inches) in length
Straight black bill

Black and white, barring on back and wings
Black spotted, white underparts and rump

Adult males

Red crown to nape (smaller in immatures)
Buff forehead
Black forecrown with red feather tips

Adult female has a black crown

Similar Species

Nuttall's Woodpecker is similar but darker with broader dark bars across back and face.

Distribution

South-western United States, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 8 subspecies^[1]:

D. s. cactophilus:

Arid south-western US to north-eastern Baja California and central Mexico

D. s. eremicus:

Northern Baja California

D. s. lucasanus:

Southern Baja California

D. s. graysoni:

Tres Marías Islands (off western Mexico)

D. s. sinaloensis:

Coastal western Mexico (southern Sonora to Guerrero, south-western Puebla, western Oaxaca)

D. s. scalaris:

Southern Mexico (Veracruz and Chiapas)

D. s. parvus:

North Yucatán Peninsula, Cozumel Island and Holbox Island

D. s. leucoptilurus:

Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador to north-eastern Nicaragua

Habitat

Deserts and open woodland in very dry areas; also woods along seasonally dry water courses.

Behaviour

Breeding

They nest in cavities excavated in tree trunks. Their clutch contains 2 to 7 plain white eggs which are incubated by both adults.

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of insects, invertebrates and their larva, such as beetles, caterpillars and ants; they also eat some fruit.

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Avibase
Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2019)

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Ladder-backed Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Ladder-backed_Woodpecker

External Links

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