White-headed Woodpecker

Picoides albolarvatus

Description:

A black bird with a distinctive white head and throat. White wing patch noticeable at rest and in flight. Male has a red patch on back of its head.

Voice:

Hoarse. A sharp pee-dink or pee-dee-dink. Also, chick or chick-ick-ick.

Food:

This bird’s primary diet is made up of conifer seeds. Seldom found away from pines, and favors those with large cones or prolific seed production, such as Coulter, Ponderosa, Jeffrey, and Sugar Pines. They will pry loose bark in search of insects and larvae.

Nest:

White-headed Woodpeckers are cavity nesters. Both male and female excavate the nest usually in a dead conifer or in a dead portion of a living conifer.

Habitat:

They are found primarily in mountain pine forests.

Range:

Found in the mountains of the western United States and parts of Canada.

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