British Columbia is home to lush temperate rainforests, breathtaking mountains, and myriad wooded lakes and bogs. This makes the province an ideal place for woodpeckers to flourish. Indeed, British Columbia boasts the most woodpecker species of any province in Canada, edging out its neighbor Alberta, which is home to 10 species.
The terrific woodpecker diversity in British Columbia makes it appealing to birders, but it can be difficult to distinguish between some of these species. Luckily, I’ve created this guide to help those who are struggling to identify the woodpeckers of British Columbia. Continue reading to learn everything you wish to know about BC woodpeckers.
Table of Contents
11 Woodpeckers in British Columbia
American Three-toed Woodpecker
Identification
American Three-toed Woodpeckers have a distinctive patch of white with black barring on their otherwise dark backs. Their undersides are white with fine black barring. Males have a small yellow patch on their heads.
Habitat and Range
American Three-toed Woodpeckers are quite dependent on forests that have lots of snags, as they require these features for foraging and nesting. Therefore, look for these British Columbia woodpeckers in areas that had a disturbance like a flood or fire in the past 10 years or so.
American Three-toed Woodpeckers are established in most of British Columbia. From the boreal forests of the north to the ponderosa forests of the south, they are fairly widespread. However, they tend to be rare in the temperate rainforests of western BC.
Status
Although American Three-toed Woodpeckers have a sizable distribution in British Columbia, they are not especially numerous anywhere in the province. Finding one of these birds will usually take a bit of searching.
Black-backed Woodpecker
Identification
Black-backed Woodpeckers have solid black backs and white undersides with black barring. Males have a yellow crown patch, but females do not have this feature.
Habitat and Range
Black-backed Woodpeckers prosper in the boreal forests of northern BC and montane forests in much of the remainder of the province. They require their habitat to be burned within the last 10 years, as such conditions help their insect prey to flourish. After about 8 years following a fire, the habitat starts to become undesirable as insects die off.
Black-backed Woodpeckers are most numerous in central British Columbia. They do not tend to be found in the western portion of the province.
Status
This species is a year-round resident in BC, but it is rather scarce throughout much of its range. However, if you find an area that was burned within the past 8 years, your chances of seeing this bird increase substantially.
Downy Woodpecker
Identification
Downy Woodpeckers are rather unremarkable in their appearance. They have plain white undersides, a plain white patch in the middle of their backs, and black and white faces. Males have a small red patch on their napes.
Habitat and Range
Downy Woodpeckers can be found in deciduous and mixed woodlands. Their numbers tend to decline as the number of coniferous trees in the stand increases. They do well in residential areas where they may be found in parks or neighborhoods.
Downies are scarce in northern British Columbia where the boreal forest dominates. They tend to be most common in central BC. They are not found on the Haida Gwaii islands.
Status
Finding a Downy Woodpecker in northern BC is a challenge, as they struggle to compete in the dense forests of this part of the province. They are reasonably common in the remainder of the province.
Hairy Woodpecker
Identification
Hairy Woodpeckers show some regional variability, but they look similar to plus-sized Downy Woodpeckers. They have a white patch on their otherwise black and white backs, and their bills are much longer than the stubby bills of Downies.
Habitat and Range
Hairy Woodpeckers in BC are quite versatile, being found in a variety of habitats including boreal forests, temperate rainforests, parks, cemeteries, and mixed woodlands.
They are regular Vancouver Island woodpeckers, and these woodpeckers of BC are also present on Haida Gwaii islands.
Status
Hairy Woodpeckers are perhaps the most common woodpecker in British Columbia, having perhaps the biggest range and largest population.
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Identification
Another sexually monomorphic woodpecker, Lewis’s Woodpeckers have dark black-green backs, gray collars around their necks, dark faces, and rosy red undersides.
Habitat and Range
Lewis’s Woodpeckers are heavily dependent on fires to create the habitat that they need for breeding, as open areas with extensive snags are essential to the reproductive success of this BC woodpecker.
Lewis’s Woodpecker strongholds in BC include the districts of Central Okanagan, Okanagan-Similkameen, Thompson-Nicola, Central Kootenay, and East Kootenay.
Status
Lewis’s Woodpeckers are fairly common and readily observed in their open habitat in southern British Columbia.
Northern Flicker
Identification
Northern Flickers have brown backs barred with black and beige undersides spotted with black. They have a black necklace on their chest and brownish-gray faces. Males have a black moustache.
Habitat and Range
Northern Flickers are found in forest edges and open woodlands of British Columbia.
They are summer residents in most of the province, but this BC woodpecker may be found year-round in the western and southern portions of British Columbia.
Status
Northern Flickers are common in many areas of BC. They can be uncommon winter residents outside of their typical winter range at residences with bird feeders.
Pileated Woodpecker
Identification
Pileated Woodpeckers are the largest of the types of woodpeckers in BC. Indeed, these crow-sized woodpeckers have dark bodies, black and white faces, red crests, and white wing patches. Males have more red on the face than females.
Habitat and Range
Pileated Woodpeckers can be found in both coniferous and deciduous forests. They seem to select stands of older trees when possible. This is likely due to the greater numbers of large, dead trees that can be used for nesting and foraging.
Pileated Woodpeckers inhabit the southern half of BC, but they are largely absent from the northern half.
Status
Although they are year-round residents, it can be difficult to track down these creatures given the large swaths of habitat that they occupy.
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Identification
One of two sexually monomorphic woodpeckers in British Columbia, Red-breasted Sapsuckers have red heads and chests. Their backs are black with some white, while their undersides are white with black streaking.
Habitat and Range
Red-breasted Sapsuckers favor coniferous forests rather than mixed or deciduous forests. However, they may be found in wooded habitats adjacent to water no matter the composition of the tree community.
They are native to the western portion of British Columbia. They may breed in some areas of central BC, but birds make short migrations to coastal areas to spend the winter.
Status
Red-breasted Sapsuckers are common throughout much of their BC range, and they are often the only sapsuckers within the forests in which they live.
Red-naped Sapsucker
Identification
Red-naped Sapsuckers have dark chests, mottled black and white bodies, and red foreheads. Males have the namesake red napes, but females lack this feature.
Habitat and Range
Red-naped Sapsuckers avoid the dense boreal forests that are prominent in much of British Columbia. Instead, these woodpeckers of BC like fairly open, mixed or deciduous forests. They avoid largely coniferous forests.
Red-naped Sapsuckers are native to eastern and central BC. Here, they breed in the summer and retreat south for the winter.
Status
They are fairly common in the appropriate habitats during the warm months of the year.
Williamson’s Sapsucker
Identification
Williamson’s Sapsuckers are sexually dimorphic like most of British Columbia’s woodpeckers. However, the difference between males and females is especially apparent in this species. Males have black backs, black and white wings, and white undersides barred with black. Moreover, they have red throats and yellow chests. Females have black and white barred bodies, yellow chests, and plain, brownish faces.
Habitat and Range
Williamson’s Sapsuckers thrive in coniferous or mixed forests. Forests that have sizable concentrations of ponderosa pine or larch trees are especially favorable to these BC woodpeckers. They need forests that have a significant amount of snags in which they can build their nests.
Williamson’s Sapsuckers breed in the south-central portion of British Columbia. The best places to find them include the districts of Thompson-Nicola, Okanagan-Similkameen, and Kootenay Boundary.
Status
Williamson’s Sapsuckers are a south-central British Columbia specialty. They are considered to be endangered birds in Canada due to their small range and population. Therefore, they’re likely the rarest woodpecker in BC.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Identification
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have cream-colored undersides, streaked flanks, and black and white backs. Both sexes have red foreheads, but only males have red throats.
Habitat and Range
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers seek communities of fairly young trees where they often build their nests close to water. Here, these BC woodpeckers drill sap wells and regularly visit to devour the insects and sap that pools up. This drilling does not kill trees, rather, it provides an easy meal for these woodpeckers in BC.
This BC woodpecker can be found in east-central up through north-central British Columbia during the summer breeding season. They are absent from much of September through early April.
Status
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are fairly common in their BC breeding range, but one has to travel to fairly remote parts of the province to find these types of woodpeckers in BC.