Woodpeckers are a fun group of birds to watch. Their unique adaptation to be able to drill into trees at high speed without injuring themselves is quite unique! In this article we’ll take a look at 10 species of woodpeckers in Montana, and give a little information about where and when you might be able to spot them. At the end of the article we’ll also share a few tips on how to attract woodpeckers to your yard.
10 Woodpeckers in Montana
There are at least 17 species of woodpeckers that can be seen in North America. With 10 species that make their home here at least for part of the year, Montana is a great place to find woodpeckers!
The 10 species of woodpeckers in Montana are the American three-toed woodpecker, black-backed woodpecker, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, Lewis’s woodpecker, Northern flicker, pileated woodpecker, red-naped sapsucker, Williamson’s sapsucker, and the red-headed woodpecker.
1. American Three-toed Woodpecker
- Scientific name: Picoides dorsalis
- Length: 8.3-9.1 in
- Weight: 1.6-2.4 oz
- Wingspan: 14.6-15.3 in
Aside from a few other states in the west, Montana is actually one of the few states that the American Three-toed Woodpecker can be found. They remain in the state year-round. Look for them in the wooded areas along the western edge of the state, such as Glacier National Park and the national forests around Missoula. They prefer damaged, old growth forests with lots of dead or even burned trees where they can extract insect larvae and mine for bugs easily.
The majority of woodpeckers have 4 toes, or Zygodactyl toes. However as the name suggests, these woodpeckers have just 3 toes. It is believed that the three-toed woodpecker is able to lean back further and strike a more powerful blow to its target because of the leverage having just 3 toes affords it.
Overall these woodpeckers are not common in the U.S. and are rarely seen at backyard feeders.