Nuttall's Woodpecker Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesNuttall's Woodpecker
Male
Small woodpecker with black-and-white barring up its back. Note that the barring on the back does not go all the way up the back, leaving a solid black patch below the neck. Males have a red patch at the rear of the head.
© Christopher Lindsey / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, December 28, 2017Female
Females look like males, but lack the red crown patch. Note thin facial stripes and white underparts.
© Herb Elliott / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, March 24, 2017Male
Small black-and-white barred woodpecker. Males have red patch at the rear of the head. Note solid black patch on the upper back and thin facial stripes.
© Dean LaTray / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, February 19, 2018Male with Purple Finch
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, July 27, 1997Habitat
Found in oak woodlands, wooded suburban areas, and woodlands near streams with cottonwoods, willows, and sycamores.
© Jeremy Neipp / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, March 17, 2018Similar SpeciesLadder-backed Woodpecker
Male
Ladder-backed Woodpeckers have barring that goes all they up their back, while the barring stops on the upper back of Nuttall's Woodpeckers. Their red crown patch extends farther forward on their head than it does on Nuttall's Woodpeckers.
© Edward Plumer / Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 20, 2016Similar SpeciesLadder-backed Woodpecker
Female
Ladder-backed Woodpeckers have thicker white facial stripes than Nuttall's Woodpeckers. They also have more extensive barring on the back, whereas the barring stops on the upper back of Nuttall's Woodpeckers.
© Eric Gofreed / Macaulay LibraryArizona, December 28, 2016Similar SpeciesDowny Woodpecker
Male (Eastern)
Downy Woodpeckers lack the Nuttall's Woodpeckers black-and-white barred back.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryRhode Island, February 02, 2017Similar SpeciesHairy Woodpecker
Male (Eastern)
Hairy Woodpeckers have a white stripe down the middle of their back, whereas the backs of Nuttall's Woodpeckers are barred black and white.
© Jean-Sébastien Guénette / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, February 26, 2016Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Woodpeckers(Order: Piciformes, Family: Picidae)
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