 Breeding evidence |
 Relative abundance |
 Probability of observation |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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2.49 (0.572 - 4.43)|
Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Atlas Results
Atlas results coming soon
Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:
As its name suggests, the solid black dorsal plumage of this woodpecker distinguishes it from the similar American Three-toed Woodpecker. The two species share similar secretive habits and a foraging ecology that depends on bark beetles and wood-boring beetles under the bark of mature, dying, or dead coniferous trees. The Black-backed Woodpecker has a more southerly distribution than its cousin, barely penetrating the subarctic forests from central Alaska to central Labrador. Its southern limits are the Sierra Nevada of California, the Rockies of Montana, and the northeastern US.
Even more than the American Three-toed Woodpecker, the Black-backed Woodpecker has a reputation for being linked to forest fires and colonizing recent burns opportunistically to take advantage of the pulsed insect food source in the decaying wood. Vagrants tend to be noted in conifer plantations.
The Black-backed Woodpecker is an uncommon permanent resident in the boreal forest and a rare and erratic transient or winter visitant south into the parklands and the Cypress Hills (Smith 1996). Fall records from the grasslands include birds at Kindersley 24 Sep 2003 (SBDB) and White Bear 10 Oct 1986. An increase of 2.6% per year occurred during provincial Christmas Bird Counts 1981-2007.
Original text by Karen Wiebe. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky
Read more about the Black-backed Woodpecker in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.
Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Black-backed Woodpecker in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=BBWO&lang=en [09 Nov 2025]
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