The barred black-and-white back pattern of the ladder-backed woodpecker extends up to the hindneck, with very little solid black on the upper back. The ladder-backed woodpecker is a small woodpecker about 16.5 to 19 cm (6½ to 7½ inches) in length. Overlaps (and sometimes hybridizes) with the Nuttallâs very locally on the western edge of the California deserts from Inyo and Kern Counties south to northwestern Baja California. A small woodpecker of arid country. We protect birds and the places they need. Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. Golden-fronted woodpecker. Both parents feed the young, bringing insects in their bills to the nest. A ladder-backed woodpecker perches on a tree in Texas. When traveling through the scattered cactus and mesquite of the arid southwestern U.S., it’s difficult to believe that these almost treeless habitats are home to woodpeckers. Because of its size, it is able to make a living even in scrubby growth along dry washes (other desert woodpeckers, like Gila Woodpecker and Gilded Flicker, require giant cactus or larger trees for nest sites). Legal Notices Privacy Policy Contact Us. Gila woodpecker. Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future. Gilded flicker. Male and female often forage together, concentrating on different spots: male more on trunks and big limbs, female more on outer twigs, bushes, cacti. Photo: Howard Arndt/Audubon Photography Awards, Great Egret. The Gila also has barred back pattern and is often common in the same habitats, but the Gila is larger than the ladder-backed, has a plain gray-brown head and breast (with small red cap in males) and very different calls; shows white wing patches and a white rump. Can This Critically Endangered Bird Survive Australia's New Climate Reality? Photo: Sebastian Casarez/Great Backyard Bird Count, Forages on trees, shrubs, cacti, tree yuccas, agave stalks, tall weeds, and sometimes on ground. Visit your local Audubon center, join a chapter, or help save birds with your state program. Downy woodpecker. Our email newsletter shares the latest programs and initiatives. Moves into adjacent habitats such as oaks and pinyon-juniper stands in foothills, woods on Texas coast. Calls. Permanent resident throughout its range, which extends as far south as Nicaragua. Help power unparalleled conservation work for birds across the Americas, Stay informed on important news about birds and their habitats, Receive reduced or free admission across our network of centers and sanctuaries, Access a free guide of more than 800 species of North American birds, Discover the impacts of climate change on birds and their habitats, Learn more about the birds you love through audio clips, stunning photography, and in-depth text. See the closely similar Nuttallâs woodpecker. Age when young leave nest not well known. Or take action immediately with one of our current campaigns below: The Audubon Bird Guide is a free and complete field guide to more than 800 species of North American birds, right in your pocket. Because of its size, it is able to make a living even in scrubby growth along dry washes (other desert woodpeckers, like Gila Woodpecker and Gilded Flicker, require giant cactus or larger trees for nest sites). It is primarily colored black and white, with a barred pattern on its back and wings resembling the rungs of a ladder. Illustration © David Allen Sibley. Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from Type in your search and hit Enter on desktop or hit Go on mobile device. But the Ladder-backed (once known as the “Cactus Woodpecker”) is an attractive dweller of deserts, desert scrub, and thorn forests. Closely related to Nuttall's Woodpecker of the Pacific Coast; their ranges meet in California foothills, and they sometimes interbreed there. Ladder-backed woodpecker (call) call. In the United States in dry areas of southwest, including brushland, desert washes, mesquites, riverside trees in prairie country, towns. Deserts, river woods, groves, dry woods, arid brush. Both sexes probably excavate but male may do most of work. Surveys suggest a slight decline in recent years, but still fairly common and widespread. Young: Both parents feed the young, bringing insects in their bills to the nest. 44 Perfect Gifts for the Bird and Nature Lovers in Your Life, How the Evening Grosbeak Got Its Misleading Name. Length 7". Often common in southwestern towns. U.S.-Mexico Colorado River collaboration leads to 20% increase in bird abundance. Black-backed woodpecker. Nest site is cavity in tree (such as mesquite, hackberry, willow, oak) or in Joshua tree (a yucca) or agave stalk, sometimes in giant cactus, utility pole, fence post. Photo: Dick Dickinson/Audubon Photography Awards, Adult male. Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news. Closely related to Nuttall's Woodpecker of the Pacific Coast; their ranges meet in California foothills, and they sometimes interbreed there. Common; extensive range south of United States to Nicaragua, El Salvador. Are the Trump Administration's Environmental Rollbacks Built to Last? Cavity usually 4-20' above ground, sometimes higher. The outer tail feathers are barred with black. Spread the word. It’s the least you can do. Feeds on a variety of insects, including beetles and their larvae, caterpillars, true bugs, ants. Its rump is speckled with black, as are its cream-colored underparts on the breast and flanks. Audubon protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. It can also be found in pinyon pine and pinyon-juniper forest. HarmonyonPlanetEarth. In Central America also in thorn forest, pine-oak woods, even coastal mangroves. Lives of North American Birds. Pairs may remain more or less together throughout year. A small woodpecker of arid country. The ladder-backed also gives a slightly descending jee jee jee series and a louder, slower kweek kweek kweek. Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures. Lewis's woodpecker. Generally stable, though declines have been noted in Texas. Acorn woodpecker. Drum: a simple roll like that of Nuttallâs, but longer, averaging 1.5 seconds.