Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Dryobates scalaris
Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Dryobates scalaris, Male. Photograph taken in the greater Santa Ynes region of California, March 2011. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Dryobates scalaris, Male. Photograph taken within a residential community in Alamos, Sonora, December 2017. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Dryobates scalaris, Male. Photograph taken in the greater Bahía de los Ángeles area, Baja California, November 2022. Photograph courtesy of George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles, Baja California. Identification courtesy of Mary & George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Dryobates scalaris, Female. Photograph taken within a residential community in Hereford, Arizona, November 2020. Photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Behrstock, Sierra Vista, Arizona (naturewideimages.com).
Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Dryobates scalaris, Female. Photograph taken in the greater Bahía de los Ángeles area, Baja California, February 2017. Photograph courtesy of George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles. Identification courtesy of Mary & George Flicker, Bahía de los Ángeles.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Dryobates scalaris, Female. Photograph taken in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, April 2024. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.
Background and Identification
Habitat and Geographical Range
Common Misidentifications
Conservation Perspective
The Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Dryobates scalaris, is a member of the Picidae Family of Woodpeckers. They are mid-sized in stature. They are found throughout Mexico at elevations below 3,000 m (9,800 feet). From a conservation perspective the Ladder-backed Woodpecker is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are found in desert, desert scrub, and thorn forests and in open pine and pine-oak woodlands and mangrove forests. They eat insects and other antropods.