National Geographic - USA (2021-03)

SOURCES: RODNEY B. SIEGEL, INSTITUTE FOR BIRD POPULATIONS; VICTORIA A. SAAB, FOREST SERVICE; DANIEL YOUNG

AND JACKI WHISENANT, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON; CORNELL LAB OF ORNITHOLOGY; EBIRD

Chickadee
insect consumer

Chipmunk

seed dispersal

Squirrel

seed dispersal

Northern flicker

insect consumer

Flying squirrel

seed and fungus

dispersal

Myotis bat

insect consumer

Bumblebee

pollinator

Mountain
bluebird
insect consumer

Black-backed

woodpecker

(female)

These woodpeckers thrive in

forests that are “pyrodiverse,” a

mosaic of areas burned at differing

severities and juxtaposed with

unburned areas. As fires become

larger and more severe, these

mosaics may be lost, diminishing

habitat quality even for such a

fire-loving species.

HOMESTEADING

Annually

MOVING AWAY

4-8 years

They excavate cavities to make

new nests every year; chicks hatch

in spring. Old nests shelter many

small mammals and other birds.

Black-backed woodpeckers leave

for newly burned forests when

fire-killed trees deteriorate and

beetle populations diminish.

3 4

Second homes

Other habitat-restoring

species live in former

woodpecker nests.

Afterlife of the forest

Once the birds leave, it can

take decades or more to know

if the forest will fully recover.

Shared parenting

Both sexes of the black-backed

woodpecker incubate eggs

and tend their young.

UNITED STATES

CANADA

ALASKA(U.S.)

Black-backed

woodpecker range

(Picoides arcticus)

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