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Black-backed Woodpecker
PIC À DOS NOIR
Picoides
arcticus (Swainson)
Uncommon permanent resident of forested
regions; sometimes locally common.
This species has undergone an
awkward series of name changes, from the inappropriate Arctic Three-toed
Woodpecker to the cumbersome Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker to the present,
abbreviated name. Marginally larger than a Hairy Woodpecker, it is
distinguished by an unmarked, glossy black back and dark barring on the flanks.
Adult males have a rich yellow patch on the forehead, which distinguishes them
from all other woodpeckers except the Three-toed.
A rare to uncommon resident of
coniferous and mixed-wood forests in Manitoba, this species is somewhat more
numerous here than the Three-toed Woodpecker. It occurs regularly in the
southeastern boreal–hardwood transition region and Riding Mountain National
Park, but is a rare visitor to other boreal “islands” such as Birds Hill
Provincial Park and the Spruce Woods area. It appears not to range so far north
as the Three-toed Woodpecker, though several pairs nested in the Twin Lakes area
near Churchill between 1994 and 2001, following two major forest fires.
Black-backed Woodpeckers tend to
be found more often in winter than other seasons in southern Manitoba. As with
the Three-toed Woodpecker, this is partly a reflection of observer effort, but
there may also be some southward drift of the population for the winter. Six of
10 nests in the Nest Record file were found in jack pines, three in poplars and
one in a tamarack. Four “fresh” eggs were reported in a nest near Whitemouth on
20 May 1938; the remaining nests (all in southeastern Manitoba) contained young
between 8 June and 5 July.
This woodpecker is attracted to
recently burned coniferous forest, especially in the first year or two
following the fire.1 Foraging for wood-boring beetle larvae in the
charred trunks, it leaves conspicuous evidence of its presence as it chips away
the bark. At a distance, however, this can sometimes be confused with porcupine
damage or with bark simply flaking away as the trees decay. Several birds can
sometimes be found in such situations, especially in winter. Rudolf Koes and
Russell Tkachuk found a remarkable concentration of 77 Black-backed Woodpeckers
in about two square kilometres of burned pine forest near St. Labre on 17
January 1988. A huge concentration in burned forest near Lake Nipigon, Ontario
in winter 1998–1999 was estimated, on the basis of sample counts, to involve as
many as 20,000 birds.1
When recent burns are not
available, Black-backed Woodpeckers remain sparsely distributed in pine, spruce,
and mixed-wood forest. They also visit sick elms and other deciduous trees near
the edge of the boreal forest. Somewhat noisier than Three-toed Woodpeckers,
they are often detected by their sharp, blackbird-like calls. Christmas Bird
Counts and Breeding Bird Survey totals rarely exceed one or two individuals.
The highest Christmas Count totals were eight at Pinawa–Lac du Bonnet in 1983
and five at Riding Mountain National Park in 1981. Rarely, individuals have
been recorded on counts outside the boreal forest, including Oak Hammock Marsh,
Oak Lake, and Winnipeg.
1 Escott 2001.
G.E. Holland, P. Taylor
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