Bird guide · Dryobates nuttallii
Nuttall's Woodpecker
What the Nuttall's woodpecker eats, where it lives, when it comes to feeders and how to recognise it – with sightings from every US state.
- Season
- Year-round resident
- Size
- 6.7 in (17 cm)
- Most common
- California, Nevada
Food
What do Nuttall's woodpeckers eat?
Males tend to forage on trunks and big limbs, females on smaller branches and twigs.
Feeder that suits it
A tube or hopper feeder with sunflower seed or sunflower hearts.
Range
Where do Nuttall's woodpeckers live?
Oak woodlands of California, barely into Baja. By share of all bird sightings, Nuttall's woodpeckers are most common in California (1.1%).
Season
Does the Nuttall's woodpecker migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in December.
Share of all bird sightings in the US that are Nuttall's woodpeckers, by month.
Identification
How to identify the Nuttall's woodpecker
Adults: Black back with narrow white barring and thin white face stripes; male has a red crown patch.
Size: 6.7 in (17 cm)
Easily confused with
- Ladder-backed Woodpecker – more white on the face, wider white bars; drier habitat
On camera
Getting the Nuttall's woodpecker on a feeder camera
Any seed camera feeder works. Hang it near shrubs for cover, about five feet off the ground, with the lens facing away from direct sun.
Questions
Nuttall's Woodpecker: questions
Do Nuttall's woodpeckers migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in December.
Where do Nuttall's woodpeckers live?
By share of all bird sightings, they are most common in California, Nevada. They are rare or absent in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut.
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