With bold, coarse, back and white ladders on its back the Ladder-backed Woodpecker is well named. Other woodpeckers with similar backs include the Gila, Red-bellied, Golden-fronted and Nuttall’s Woodpeckers.
The Nuttall’s and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers have back spots and short lines on a white breast and flanks (7453 and 7912). By contrast, the Gila, Red-bellied and Golden-fronted Woodpeckers have plain pale brown to white breast and flanks and the Golden-fronted Woodpecker has a golden yellow nape of its neck. The Nuttall’s Woodpecker is most similar to the Ladder-backed Woodpecker. Both have black and white spotted flanks. The distinguishing features of the Nuttall’s and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are the white checks surrounded by black bands of the Ladder-backed Woodpecker compared to the mostly black checks surrounded by white bands of Nuttall’s Woodpecker. The Ladder-backed Woodpecker is common throughout the southwestern desserts while Nuttall’s is restricted to California. The males have a red crown, the females do not (7453 and 7912). The front of the red crown has black and white speckling (9834 and 9826).
Sally got a photo of two at a time, lined up on the telephone pole 8662. All photos were taken at Battiste’s Bed and Birds or the Cave Creak Ranch.
Photos in the 4000 series and 7041 and 8044 were taken a Cave Creek Ranch, Portal, AZ. Photos in the 100 seris were taken at the Tubac region of AZ.