The Ladder-backed Woodpecker is a small desert-dwelling woodpecker found across much of the southwestern United States and Mexico, including Arizona. Measuring about 6–7 inches in length, this species is identified by its barred black-and-white back, whitish underparts marked with black spots, and in males, a small red crown patch. In Arizona, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers inhabit desert scrub, mesquite bosques, and riparian woodlands, particularly in the Sonoran Desert and lower-elevation habitats where saguaro cacti, agave, and mesquite provide both food and nesting sites. They forage for insects by probing and pecking into bark, cactus skeletons, and dead wood, and they also consume fruits and seeds. Nesting typically occurs in cavities they excavate in cacti, mesquite, or other desert trees, and both sexes take part in raising the young. Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are year-round residents.