Doug Herr
Well-known member
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This woodpecker is unique among the North American Picidae for its sexual dimorphism in the plumage; the difference is so striking that John Cassin initially called the female a separate species, Black-breasted Woodpecker (Melanerpes thyroideus).
This is a bird of the western mountains, primarily the Rocky Mountains but also the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. In much of its range the bird is migratory but the Sierra Nevada population is a year-round resident. An interesting factoid about this particular pair in Nevada County California: when 'changing of the guard' i.e., when one parent is in the cavity and the other arrives with billfull of ants, the male always steps to the right to allow the female to exit, the female always steps to the left.
This is a bird of the western mountains, primarily the Rocky Mountains but also the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. In much of its range the bird is migratory but the Sierra Nevada population is a year-round resident. An interesting factoid about this particular pair in Nevada County California: when 'changing of the guard' i.e., when one parent is in the cavity and the other arrives with billfull of ants, the male always steps to the right to allow the female to exit, the female always steps to the left.
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