White-headed Woodpecker
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[Photo] Male White-headed Woodpecker, Picoides albolarvatus. Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The White-headed Woodpecker (Picoides albolarvatus) is a non-migratory woodpecker that resides in pine forests of the mountains of western North America. It has a black body (approximately 20 cm long) and white head. It has white primary feathers that form a crescent in flight. Males have a red spot at the nape of the neck.

The range of the White-headed Woodpecker stretches in the mountains from British Columbia through southern California. They form nests in dead trees or snags and reproduce once per year.

Most of the range is occupied by the nominate subspecies. P. a. gravirostris, which has a longer bill - especially in males - and tail, is only found on mountaintops of the southernmost part of the species' range, from the San Gabriel Mountains to San Diego County. Mount Pinos birds are somewhat intermediate. mtDNA cytochrome b and ATP synthase subunit 6 sequence data confirms this arrangement and also suggests that the Mount Pinos birds are closer to P. a. gravirostris (Alexander & Burns, 2006). Apparently, the larger bill of the southern subspecies is an adaptation for being better able to feed on the large, spiny cones of Coulter Pines (Pinus coulteri).

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