Black-backed Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker has surged: up 450% on the route-weighted index since 1971.
About the Black-backed Woodpecker
The Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) 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 189 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 14 states, most concentrated in the Northern Rockies.
- Family
- Picidae · Forest birds
Notable Black-backed Woodpecker Trends
No notable trend signals for Black-backed Woodpecker. See the full index history below.
Black-backed Woodpecker Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Black-backed Woodpecker is projected to stay roughly flat through 2029, near 0.01 (95% range 0.01–0.02). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±39.4%, with 60% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
| 2026 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
| 2027 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
| 2028 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
| 2029 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
Where the Black-backed Woodpecker Is Detected
BBS routes recording Black-backed Woodpecker, sized by most recent count.
Black-backed Woodpecker Population Trend by State
| Alaska | +182% | 2000 | 18 |
| California | +177% | 1982 | 22 |
| Idaho | -64% | 1993 | 8 |
| Maine | -53% | 1978 | 21 |
| Michigan | -28% | 1979 | 10 |
| Minnesota | -32% | 1981 | 15 |
| Montana | -52% | 1980 | 10 |
| New Hampshire | insufficient data | n/a | 2 |
| New York | +3% | 1982 | 10 |
| Oregon | +114% | 1973 | 36 |
| South Dakota | +18% | 1994 | 9 |
| Washington | -38% | 1971 | 17 |
| Wisconsin | insufficient data | n/a | 5 |
| Wyoming | -2% | 1996 | 6 |
Black-backed Woodpecker Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| BCR 4 | +385% | 2002 | 16 |
| Northern Pacific Rainforest | -85% | 1974 | 7 |
| Great Basin | +257% | 1973 | 28 |
| Northern Rockies | -4% | 1972 | 45 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | -28% | 1979 | 30 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | -47% | 1977 | 31 |
| Sierra Nevada | +142% | 1984 | 16 |
| Badlands and Prairies | -16% | 1992 | 13 |
Black-backed Woodpecker Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 450% 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.