American Three-toed Woodpecker
American Three-toed Woodpecker has surged: up 14× on the route-weighted index since 1971.
About the American Three-toed Woodpecker
The American Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis) is a North American member of the Woodpeckers (Picidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the forest birds.
- Size
- 6–19.5 in long (15–50 cm) — a chisel-billed climber (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Woodlands and forest edges, including wooded suburbs and parks.
- Diet
- Insects and spiders gleaned from foliage and bark, with seeds and berries in season.
- Range
- Recorded on 177 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 14 states, most concentrated in the Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau.
- Family
- Picidae · Forest birds
Notable American Three-toed Woodpecker Trends
No notable trend signals for American Three-toed Woodpecker. See the full index history below.
American Three-toed Woodpecker Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, American Three-toed Woodpecker is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.03 (95% range 0.02–0.04). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±18.5%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| 2026 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| 2027 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| 2028 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.04 |
| 2029 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.04 |
Where the American Three-toed Woodpecker Is Detected
BBS routes recording American Three-toed Woodpecker, sized by most recent count.
American Three-toed Woodpecker Population Trend by State
| Alaska | +112% | 1987 | 52 |
| Arizona | -46% | 1989 | 6 |
| Colorado | +8% | 1972 | 38 |
| Idaho | -25% | 1994 | 6 |
| Maine | insufficient data | n/a | 3 |
| Minnesota | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Montana | -37% | 1992 | 19 |
| New Mexico | insufficient data | n/a | 4 |
| New York | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Oregon | insufficient data | n/a | 6 |
| South Dakota | +27% | 1997 | 3 |
| Utah | +45% | 1997 | 11 |
| Washington | -70% | 1994 | 13 |
| Wyoming | +45% | 1992 | 14 |
American Three-toed Woodpecker Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| BCR 4 | +50% | 1988 | 40 |
| Northern Pacific Rainforest | +222% | 1994 | 13 |
| Great Basin | -56% | 1994 | 7 |
| Northern Rockies | +9% | 1988 | 43 |
| Southern Rockies / Colorado Plateau | +147% | 1972 | 57 |
| Badlands and Prairies | -3% | 1997 | 3 |
| Sierra Madre Occidental | -60% | 1989 | 5 |
American Three-toed Woodpecker Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 1328% since 1971.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.