Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Arizona hosts a rich diversity of the woodpecker family (Picidae), including residents of desert lowlands, riparian woodlands, and high-elevation conifer forests. These birds are adapted for excavating wood, drumming to communicate, and foraging on insects, sap, and fruit.
Arizona Woodpecker (Dryobates arizonae)
A specialty of southeastern Arizona’s Madrean Sky Islands, this small, brown-backed woodpecker with white underparts and brown spotting is the only regularly occurring brown woodpecker in the U.S. It favors oak and pine-oak canyons and often forages on branches rather than trunks.
American Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis)
A rare visitor to Arizona’s high-elevation spruce-fir forests, especially after spruce beetle outbreaks. This black-and-white woodpecker is distinctive with three toes instead of the usual four and a yellow crown patch in males. Records are scarce and usually tied to irruptions from the north.
Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus)
Widespread in Arizona’s coniferous forests, resembling the smaller Downy but with a longer bill.
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)
Smallest Arizona woodpecker, found along riparian woodlands and foothills.
Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis)
A desert specialist, common in saguaro stands and desert scrub. Known for excavating nest holes in saguaros
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
Strikingly patterned black-and-white bird with a clownlike face and red cap. Noted for storing thousands of acorns in “granary trees.”
Lewis’s Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis)
An uncommon resident of pine forests and open woodlands, unique for its crow-like flight and aerial insect-catching
Ladderback Woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris)
The Ladder-backed Woodpecker is a small desert-dwelling woodpecker found across much of the southwestern United States and Mexico, including Arizona.
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
In Arizona, both the “Red-shafted” and “Yellow-shafted” forms occur, with red-shafted more common. Large, brown, ant-eating woodpecker often seen foraging on the ground.
Gilded Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides)
Found in desert regions with saguaros, distinguished from Northern Flicker by its golden-yellow wing and tail linings.
Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis)
Common winter visitor and migrant, recognized by its red crown, throat, and nape. Drills rows of sap wells in trees.
Williamson’s Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus)
Breeds in Arizona’s high-elevation conifers. Unusual for its strong sexual dimorphism: males are mostly black with a yellow belly, females barred brown.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
Rare but regular winter visitor, mainly in southeastern Arizona.