The American Three-toed Woodpecker is a scarce and quiet specialist of the boreal conifer forest, closely resembling its relative the Black-backed Woodpecker but showing a barred (not solid black) back and, like it, only three toes rather than the usual four. Boldly patterned in black and white with barred flanks, the male wears a small yellow crown patch. Rather than loudly drumming or excavating, it works quietly and methodically, flaking away flakes of bark from dead and dying conifers to reach the insects beneath, often so absorbed that it can be approached closely.
Like the Black-backed Woodpecker, it thrives on forest disturbance, especially recent burns and beetle-killed stands where wood-boring beetle larvae are abundant, and it wanders in search of these patchy, temporary feeding grounds. In Michigan it is an uncommon and irregular year-round resident at the southern edge of its range, mainly in the conifer forests of the Upper Peninsula, and it is one of the harder resident birds to find. Discovering one quietly flaking bark in a burned spruce stand is a genuine prize for northern-forest birders.
Feeds mainly on the larvae of wood-boring beetles and other insects found in dead and dying conifers, flaking away bark to expose them rather than excavating deeply. It concentrates in recently burned and beetle-killed forest where such larvae are abundant, wandering to find these patchy stands.
The American Three-toed Woodpecker has a barred black-and-white back, while the Black-backed Woodpecker has a solid glossy-black back. Both show barred flanks, a yellow crown patch on the male, and only three toes.
Like the Black-backed Woodpecker, it has three toes rather than four, which is thought to help it deliver more powerful, leveraged blows while flaking bark from dead conifers. It is one of only a few three-toed woodpeckers.
As an uncommon and irregular year-round resident of the northern conifer forests, mainly in the Upper Peninsula, especially in recently burned or beetle-killed spruce stands. It is one of the harder resident birds to find.
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