10 Woodpeckers in Montana
There are 10 species of woodpeckers in Montana. They range from the smallest woodpecker, the Downy, to the largest Woodpecker, the Pileated. Some are common woodpeckers and are seen throughout Montana including the Hairy Woodpecker, Downy, and the Northern Flicker, and are most likely to visit your bird feeders.
The American Three-toed woodpecker and Black-backed woodpecker can all be seen in Montana year-round. While others like the Red-headed Woodpecker, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, and Williamson’s Sapsucker can be seen during the breeding season.
Woodpeckers can be found in various places, including suburban backyards, woodlands, and forests. This resource is a guide to identifying and learning more about these birds in detail or finding out which kind lives near you in Montana.
Some people see woodpeckers as a nuisance since they can cause damage to buildings and houses, especially cedar siding. Others see them as good as they eat insects and keep the insect population in check.
No matter how you see them woodpeckers are interesting creatures and provide a beautiful sound when pecking.
All woodpeckers are protected by the federal migratory bird treaty act which makes it unlawful to kill, harm, hunt, etc. any species of woodpecker.
Where To Find Woodpeckers In Montana
Looking for woodpeckers in Montana? The Northern Flicker is the most common woodpecker in Montana and can be seen in your backyards along with the Downy and Hairy woodpeckers.
With 12 national forests covering 21 million acres and the “Crown of the Continent”, Glacier National Park, there are plenty of places to see woodpeckers and other birdwatching in Montana.
For more birdwatching in Montana see our article on backyard birds.
1. Pileated Woodpecker
Scientific Name: Dryocopus pileatus Size: 16.5 inches
Description And Field Marks
The largest woodpeckers in Montana are the Pileated. It’s almost the size of a crow with an all-black body with white stripes down a long neck and a bright red crest on the back of their heads and strong bills. White under-wing and white wing patches are easily seen in flight.
Pileated Woodpeckers fly in fairly straight lines, unlike other woodpecker species, who fly in undulating lines.
These birds have been known to thrive in forests, especially throughout the Glacier National Park and Flathead National Forest. Therefore, Pileated Woodpeckers provide an important source of biodiversity to the state’s ecosystem and also act as indicators for healthy woodlands.
These are noisy, loud woodpeckers. Their drum is slow and powerful, accelerates, and then trails off, not more than two times a minute.
Nesting
Pileated Woodpeckers drill out nest holes in large tree trunks. These nests can take from 3 to 6 weeks to build as they are very large, up to 2 feet wide.
Pileated Woodpeckers lay 3 to 5 white eggs each breeding season. The incubation period is 15 to 18 days and the young will remain in the nest for 24 to 31 days.
Diet
They really like carpenter ants, so they’re often found foraging at the bottoms of dead trees or on fallen logs.
Habitat
Likes mature forests and open woodlands. Pileated Woodpeckers look for dead trees and logs, which offer food and a nest cavity.
You will find Pileated Woodpeckers in the northwest part of the state year-round.
Bird Notes
Pileated Woodpecker holes are rectangular rather than round or oval like other woodpeckers, and they are deep enough to break smaller trees in half.
Call And Drumming
2. Northern Flickers
Scientific Name: Colaptes auratus Size: 11.0-12.2 inches
Description And Field
The Northern Flicker male and female are similar in color. They both have a rounded head, the bill is curved down and the tail tapers to a long point.
With its gray-brown plumage, Northern Flickers stand out from other woodpeckers in their area. They also have plenty of dark markings on their undersides and brightly colored tail feathers.
Although the same bird their colors differ from the eastern United States (bright yellow wing and tail feathers) and the western US (red wing and tail feathers).
The Northern Flicker is also known as “the woodpecker that doesn’t peck wood.” Instead, it cleans insects from the bark of trees.
Nesting
It nests in holes excavated by other animals, such as squirrels and woodpeckers. It lays 5 to 8 eggs which are all white. They only have one brood per nesting season.
The incubation period is around 2 weeks and the young stay in the nest for about a month.
Diet
Northern Flickers mostly will eat insects that they get from the ground. They will “drum” at the ground as other woodpeckers drum in trees and wood. During the winter months, they will also eat fruits and seeds.
The Northern Flicker is a great backyard bird because it is generally easy to attract and stops in at your suet and peanut feeders, but most likely you’ll see them nesting in old trees.
Habitat
You will see Northern Flickers in city parks and backyards in the suburbs. They will also be in woodlands with open trees, burned forests, swamps, and marshes.
The most common time to see the Northern Flicker is during the spring and summer in Montana although you can see them year-round.
Call And Drumming
The Northern Flicker has a wide range of calls. It has a typical woodpecker-like “drum” and a more musical, gurgling call that is often mistaken for the song of the Red-winged Blackbird.
They make excellent watch birds due to their loud “wicka-wicka-wicka” call that can be heard from quite a distance.
3. Hairy Woodpecker
Scientific Name: Leuconotopicus villosus Size: 7.1-10.2 inches
Description And Field Marks
Very similar to the Downy Woodpecker in color and looks except the Hairy Woodpecker is larger in size and has a longer bill.
Nesting
Hairy Woodpeckers make their nest in trees, especially diet trees. They lay 3-6 all-white eggs with an incubation period of 10 to 12 days. The young woodpeckers remain in the nest for about a month.
Diet
Their main source of food is insects that they find in trees and branches.
Habitat
Hairy Woodpeckers are year-round residents of Montana backyards and also wood forests, especially pine trees which are abundant. If you don’t see them you will definitely hear them drumming on trees.
Call And Drumming
4. downy woodpecker
Scientific Name: Dryobates pubescens Size: 5.5-6.7 inches
Description And Field Marks
Downy Woodpeckers are bigger than the House Finch but smaller than Red-winged Blackbirds and are the smallest woodpecker in Minnesota. It has a black-and-white striped head and black wings with white spots and a solid white back and white underparts. The Downy Woodpecker has a black tail with white outer tail feathers with black bars or spots. The adult males have a small red patch on the back of their heads.
Nesting
Look for their nest in dead trees or live trees with dead areas. They carve out an area large enough for the eggs and the bird. They line the nest only with wood chips. The nest can take weeks to make and is done by both the male and female.
A Downy woodpecker only has one brood each year with 3 to 8 eggs which are white in color. The incubation period is around 12 days with both the male and female taking turns. The young will stay in the nest for around 30 days.
Diet
Mostly Downy Woodpeckers eat insects and sap from the pine tree’s sap wells. The male tends to eat from the ground while the female likes to find insects from branches and in trees. They will also eat seeds, weeds, and fruit.
The Downy Woodpecker will visit your backyard suet feeders for suet and nuts.
Habitat
The Downy is the most common woodpecker in the state of Montana, especially in places where there are trees. You will see them in residential areas, cities, farmland, and wooded areas.
Call And Drumming
5. black-backed woodpecker
Scientific Name: Picoides arcticus Size: 9.1 inches
Description And Field Marks
The black-backed woodpecker is a species of bird that is a native North American woodpecker. It is considered important because it plays an essential role in the boreal forest ecosystem, contributing to fire maintenance and creating habitats for other wildlife.
This predominantly black woodpecker has some white markings on it by the underbelly, throat, and above its bill. Males and juveniles have a yellow patch on the top of their heads which is missing in the adult female. It is the same size as the Hairy Woodpecker.
Nesting
The black-backed woodpecker builds its nest in trees or on branches, usually excavating cavities into dead trees or stumps. The female lays between two to six white eggs. Both parents share the duties of incubating the eggs and raising their young. After hatching, both parents feed and care for their young until they fledge at around 28 days old.
Diet
The Black-backed Woodpecker is an important part of the food chain in New Hampshire, as it primarily eats wood-boring insects and larvae. It also has a significant role in dispersing fungi spores from tree trunks, helping maintain healthy forests.
Habitat
They also find burnt forests and insect-infested forests and make them their home.
The black-backed woodpecker can be found primarily in the northern boreal forests of Canada but is seen in western Montana year-round. They find burnt forests and insect-infested forests and make them their home.
Call And Drumming
6. red-naped sapsucker
Scientific Name: Sphyrapicus nuchalis Size: 7 to 9 inches
Description And Field Marks
First thought to be the same species as the Yellow-bellied and Red-breasted Sapsuckers researchers determined that the Red-naped Sapsuckers were their own specie.
The Red-naped Sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker with black and white plumage with yellow and red accents. Its upper parts are black-barred with white, and it has a bold white stripe across each wing. It has yellowish bellies, black breast bands, and red throats. Its head is bright red with black stripes through and above the eyes.
The beak of Red-Naped Sapsuckers is short and straight. Males and females look much alike, but females usually have less red on their throats and napes.
Nesting
The Red-naped Sapsucker creates its nest typically in healthy aspen trees or dead conifers. They use their powerful feet and stiff tail feathers to hitch up and down the tree bark and begin to drill circular and rectangular holes. Once they have excavated the nest cavity, they will line it with woodchips.
Once the nest is ready, the female lays 3-7 white eggs which need to be incubated for 12-13 days with a nesting period of about a month. Both the male and female look after the young. The Red-naped Sapsucker may reuse their old nests or build new nests in the same tree.
Diet
The Red-naped Sapsucker is an omnivore and primarily feeds on sap from trees such as willow, birch, alder, and chokecherry. They drill rectangular or circular holes into the inner bark of these trees and lap up the sap using their specialized tongue.
They also consume insects such as ants, spiders, beetles, and flies, as well as fruits and seeds. During the nesting season, they eat more insects to feed their young. Red-naped Sapsuckers are also known to visit bird feeders for breadcrumbs.
Habitat
The Red-naped sapsucker is a short-distance migratory bird and is found in the western parts of the United States, from Washington to Montana, going down to Los Angeles and New Mexico, and moving past the Gulf of California to Mexico.
During the breeding season, it is mainly found in deciduous and evergreen forests, as well as gardens, yards, and forest edges from elevations of 1,000 to 10,000 feet. They also inhabit coastal forests comprised mainly of dead trees or large snags, as well as mixed coniferous forests, open- and closed-canopy forests, burns, and clear-cuts, if there are some remaining standing trees. In addition, they may inhabit orchards and woodlands.
Red-naped Sapsuckers are commonly found in birch, aspens, and willow trees in Montana during the breeding season.
Call And Drumming
Both males and females use the scream, squeal, and waa call
7. Lewis’s woodpeckers
Scientific Name: Melanerpes lewis Size: 10.2-11 inches
Description And Field Marks
Lewis’s woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker species native to western North America. They have a red crown and nape, yellowish-orange face and neck, and greyish-brown wings and back.
Nesting
The nesting behavior of Lewis’s Woodpeckers involves finding a cavity in a tree to excavate for the nest usually lower than 60′ above ground. The male typically chooses the nesting site, and the birds may mate for life and use the same nest site repeatedly.
Lewis’s Woodpeckers lay between 2 and 5 eggs per clutch, which are white with brown and purple spots. They are oval-shaped and measure around 2 inches in length. The eggs typically hatch in 12-14 days. The eggs are incubated mainly by the female, with the male providing short-term relief. Both parents care for the nestlings, bringing back insects in their bills to feed them, and the young birds leave the nest after 4-5 weeks.
Diet
The diet of the Lewis’s Woodpeckers consists mostly of insects, but they also consume a wide variety of fruits and berries, as well as acorns and other nuts. They catch insects in the air while in flight, gleans insects from tree surfaces, take small fruits from trees, harvest acorns or other nuts, then breaks them into pieces and store them to feed on during the winter.
Additionally, it may feed at flat, open bird feeders and may act aggressively toward other birds.
Habitat
Lewis’s Woodpeckers are mainly found in open coniferous and riparian forests, orchards, and parks. Their migration behavior is quite variable from year to year. Some may be permanent residents in a particular area, while others may move south and to lower elevations during the winter.
In winter when large numbers of these birds are present, they may even travel to the lowlands of the southwest. They may migrate singly or in flocks, but the way they migrate typically remains consistent from year
Lewis’s woodpeckers are seen in western and southern Montana during the breeding season.
Call And Drumming
Additionally, its unique call is a good way to identify it.
8. American three-toed woodpecker
Scientific Name: Picoides dorsalis Size: 8.3-9.1 inches
Description And Field Marks
American Three-toed Woodpeckers are larger than a Downy but smaller than a Hairy Woodpecker. Both males and females are black and white with the male having a yellow patch on the forehead.
They are known for their distinctive appearance of having only three toes. They share this with the Eurasian Three-toed woodpecker. It was first thought that they were one species as they look alike but the DNA and voice of both species are different.
With only three toes, these species may be able to lean farther away from the tree and thereby hit the tree harder than other woodpeckers, all of which have four toes.
Nesting
The male will tap on the bark of trees to attract females and then perform a courtship display to attract her attention. Once she has accepted his advances, he will build the nest together with her.
American Three-toed Woodpeckers typically make their nests in the cavities of trees or under shingles. They create a bowl-shaped structure to lay their eggs and raise their young. The birds will also store food for later use during the winter in these same spots.
The female lays 3 to 7 white almost round eggs. The incubation period is 12 to 14 days. The young stay in the nest until they can survive on their own.
Diet
They search for food (mainly beetles) by peeling back the bark of dead trees mostly spruce and pine trees. They also eat the larvae of wood-boring beetles.
Habitat
You will see this woodpecker in Northern North America and the Western mountains. They make their home mostly in Canada. They are on the endangered list but can be seen in Montana year-round in the western part of the state.
You will mostly find them in burnt-out forests and they prefer spruce trees. Follow the beetle population and you will see American-three-toed Woodpeckers.
Call And Drumming
9. red-headed woodpecker
Scientific Name: Melanerpes erythrocephalus Size: 7.5-9.1 inches
Description And Field Marks
You can’t miss these medium-sized birds with their bright red head and white belly. The Red-headed woodpecker is the size of a Hairy woodpecker, between the size of a Robin and a Crow.
It has a powerful, spike bill that it uses to peck at wood to get insects. Its back and the tip of its tail are black but it has white wings. The male and female look the same but an immature bird has a brownish head with brown on its back and although its wings are white they have brown lines on them.
Nesting
The male picks out the nesting site and both the male and female help to build the nest, which is usually in dead trees.
They have one to two broods each year with 3 to 10 eggs which are pure white in color. The incubation period is around 12 to 14 days with both the male and female taking turns. The young will stay in the nest for 24 to 31 days.
Diet
Their diet consists mainly of insects, fruits, and seeds. It is one of the few woodpeckers that will store its food in tree cavities to consume at a later date. They will also visit backyard suet feeders during the winter.
Habitat
The red-headed woodpecker is one of the more aggressive woodpeckers as it will fight with birds larger than itself and even take over nest boxes from other birds including ducks.
They like areas where they are dead trees. They can be plentiful in an area one year and can be rarely seen the next year.
You will see them in Montana during the breeding season in spring and summer although their number has declined by 70% over the years.
Call And Drumming
10. williamson’s sapsucker
Scientific Name: Sphyrapicus thyroideus Size: 8-11 inches
Description And Field Marks
They are medium-sized woodpeckers the size of a robin. Males are mostly black with a yellow patch on their belly and white on their wings and behind their eyes. Females are black and white with brown heads.
Nesting
The nesting pair selects a live tree to make its nest usually in large, older trees. They lay 4 to 6 glossy white eggs and only have one brood per breeding season. The eggs are incubated for 12 to 14 days.
Diet
Williamson’s Sapsuckers mainly eat sap from coniferous trees. They also eat ants and beetles by picking them from the live trees and branches.
Habitat
The Williamson’s Sapsucker is a migratory woodpecker species that breeds in the western United States, including South Dakota. This species can be found in mixed conifer and deciduous forests with many different species of trees.
Williamson’s Sapsuckers are typically found in Montana in extensive, mature coniferous forests during breeding mostly in the western part of the state.
Call And Drumming
Rare Woodpecker in Montana
Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are the least observed species of woodpecker in Montana and can only be seen on the eastern edge of the state during their summer and winter migration period.
FAQs
What Time Of Year Are Woodpeckers Most Active?
Woodpeckers are most active during the morning and evening hours.
Do Woodpeckers Only Live In Forests?
Woodpeckers can be found living throughout North America, and they are generally year-round residents. They prefer to live in areas with lots of trees, as they use these trees for food, nesting sites, and roosting sites.
How To Attract Woodpeckers To Your Backyard
The best way to attract woodpeckers to your backyard is to provide them with a natural habitat that includes plenty of trees, shrubs, and other vegetation. You can also provide birdhouses or nesting boxes for them to use.
How Can You Identify Each Type Of Woodpecker?
Step 1: Look At The Overall Size Of The Woodpecker.
The Pileated Woodpecker is the biggest and is mostly black with white stripes on its face and neck. To identify this woodpecker, look for a large triangle of the red crest on the top of its head.
Downy Woodpeckers and Hairy Woodpeckers can be easily identified by their bill size in relation to their head size. Downy Woodpeckers have a small bill while Hairy Woodpeckers have a bill that is almost the same size as their head.
Step 2: Look At The Coloration Of The Woodpecker.
There are a few ways to identify woodpeckers by their appearance. One way is to look at the coloration of the woodpecker. Male woodpeckers usually have a red patch on the back of their heads, while females do not.
Step 3: Look At The Habitat Of The Woodpecker.
The habitat can help identify the type of woodpecker. Woodpeckers are typically found in forests, so if you see a woodpecker in a forest, it is most likely a Hairy Woodpecker. If you see a woodpecker in an open field, it is most likely a Downy Woodpecker.
What Is The Average Lifespan Of A Woodpecker?
Woodpeckers are small birds with a lifespan of 6 to 10 years.
What Do Woodpeckers Eat?
Woodpeckers are a type of bird that is known for its ability to peck at trees. Woodpeckers mainly feed on wood-boring insects, larvae, grubs, eggs, and pupae. They use their sharp and heavy bill to chisel and dig into trees to reach the food.
Suet, sunflower seeds, and peanuts are the best foods for attracting woodpeckers. Woodpeckers eat a variety of insects, including beetle larvae, ants, and caterpillars. They also consume a mix of berries, grains, and acorns.
Conclusion
Now that you know more about the different types of woodpeckers in Montana, keep an eye and especially an ear out to see these birds.
For more information on woodpeckers in Montana as well as other birds check out the Montana Audubon Society.
