New Mexico has a diverse range of Woodpeckers. And In this article, I’ll list and explain all the woodpeckers In New Mexico. I’ll cover all the details (Diet, identification, habitat, traits, etc).
Note: If you’re short on time I have compiled a table of all the woodpeckers with identification and their Diet. You can also read about these woodpeckers in detail below.
| Woodpeckers in New Mexico | Length | Weight | Identification(Color) | Diet/Favorite Food |
| Northern Flicker | 30-35 cm | 120 gm(4.23oz) | Large woodpeckers, with a size in between crows and Robins, with brown body color and black spots, bars, and crescents all over their bodies along with a red nape. They also have hints of yellow on their bodies as well. | Black oil sunflower seeds are their favorite. |
| Ladder-Backed Woodpecker | 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm) | 0.7-1.7 oz (21-48 g) | This woodpecker has a black-and-white on its upper body, with stripes like ladder rungs on the back. The wings have a checkered pattern. | They mostly eat insects with some exceptions of fruits. |
| Hairy Woodpecker | 7.1-10.2 in (18-26 cm) | 1.4-3.4 oz (40-95 g) | These are black and white birds. ; The head of this bird has two white stripes. The black wings are checkered with white. | Mostly insects, berries, seeds, and nuts. |
| Downy Woodpecker | 14-17 cm | 21-28 gm (0.74-0.98oz) | They are b&w in color with patches of red here and there. They are found in woodlots, in backyards, and along streams. | Insects, beetle larvae, acorns, berries and grains, black oil sunflower seeds, peanuts, millets. |
| Acorn Woodpecker | 7.5-9.1 in (19-23 cm) | 2.3-3.2 oz (65-90 g) | This woodpecker has a black upper body with a red cap, creamy white face, and black patches around the bill. | Mostly insects and acorns. |
| Williamson’s Sapsucker | 8.3-9.8 in (21-25 cm) | 1.6-1.9 oz (44-55 g) | This woodpecker has a velvety black upper body, with a yellow belly and a white wing patch. | Mostly feeds on the sap of coniferous trees and also phloem |
| Lewis’s Woodpecker | 10.2-11.0 in (26-28 cm) | 3.1-4.9 oz (88-138 g) | This woodpecker is uniquely colored. It has a gray collar, a pink belly, a dark greenback, and a dark red face. | Mostly insects, nuts, and fruits. |
| American Three-toed Woodpecker | 8.3-9.1 in (21-23 cm) | 1.6-2.4 oz (44.8-67.9 g) | This woodpecker has an overall black and white body. And a yellow patch on the forehead. The back of this woodpecker is black with white spotted wings. | Mostly feed on insects. |
| Gila Woodpecker | 8.7-9.4 in (22-24 cm) | 1.8-2.8 oz (51-79 g) | This is a grayish-brown woodpecker with brilliant black-and-white barring on the wings, back, and tail. | Mostly insects, small vertebrates, and berries |
| Red-headed Woodpecker | 7.5-9.1 in (19-23 cm) | 2.0-3.2 oz (56-91 g) | These birds have a bright-red head with white underparts, and black backs. | Mostly nuts, seeds, fruits, and berries |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | 7.1-8.7 in (18-22 cm) | 1.5-1.9 oz (43-55 g) | This woodpecker is black and white with a boldly patterned face. Both males and females have red foreheads, and males also have red throats. | Mostly feed on tree sap, Arthropods, fruits, and nuts |
11 Types Of Woodpeckers In New Mexico: In Detail
Northern Flicker
When flying, Northern Flickers have a yellow flash in their wings and tails, a white patch on their rump, and a red nape of the neck in males. They’re enormous brown woodpeckers with black patches on their backs.
Male Northern Flickers have a mustache that goes from their beak to their neck and is either black or red depending on whether they are from the east or west. The female Northern Flicker lacks a mustache.’
Northern Flickers have a piercing screech and a loud ringing cry. They feed mostly on ants and beetles, but they also eat fruits and seeds that they dig up on the ground with their bent snout.
Northern Flickers prefer birdbaths over bird feeders, so investing in a beautiful pedestal birdbath or a heated birdbath is the ideal answer for the winter.
Using suet cages, huge hoppers, or platform feeders, feed black oil sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, suet, broken maize, peanuts, and millet.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpeckers have checkered wings and a black and white ladder pattern on their backs. They are whiteish-gray on the inside with slight black markings. Males wear a red crown, while females wear a black crown.
Ladder-backed Woodpeckers can be found in arid deserts and thorn forests from California through Texas, up to southeastern Colorado, and down into Mexico. The Ladder-backed Woodpecker does not migrate.
Ladder-backed Woodpeckers mostly consume insect larvae and adult insects such as ants and caterpillars, however, they may occasionally consume cactus fruit.
In February and March, the best time to watch Ladder-backed Woodpeckers is early in the morning, when they are out defending their territories in preparation for breeding.
In desert areas, look for them near Joshua trees, Juniper, Willow, or Honey Mesquite.
Ladder-backed woodpeckers’ favorite diet is mealworm and they also consume peanut butter and visit backyard feeders for black oil sunflower seeds.
Hairy Woodpecker
These medium-sized woodpeckers have a black and white pattern on their backs, as well as a huge white patch. A crimson flare appears on the backs of the males’ skulls.
It is similar to the Downy woodpecker, but it is bigger. They’re tough to distinguish because they regularly appear in the same places. They are tiny, strong birds with a whinnying or explosive peak sound that can be spotted at backyard feeders.
Although both male and female pileated woodpeckers tap into trees in quest of ants and other delectable insects, only male hairy woodpeckers create nest holes.
As females prepare to deposit their eggs at the end of the season, the male will assist in putting the final touches on the nest and organizing the remaining wood chips.
Hairy Woodpeckers eat beetle larvae, ants, and bark beetles, as well as bees, caterpillars, spiders, moth pupae, and millipedes.
Furthermore, black oil sunflower seeds attract more Hairy Woodpeckers to your yard, and combining them with suet in a fantastic suet and hopper feeder provides you with two feeders in one.
Downy Woodpecker
Despite its resemblance to the Hairy Woodpecker, it is one-third the size and has a smaller beak than other Woodpeckers.
Downy Woodpeckers are more likely to be seen at a feeder since they are more common.
The Downy Woodpecker’s black and white patterning on the back is primarily black with a white patch. A red mark may also be seen on the backs of the males’ heads.
A red patch on the back of the head distinguishes male Downy Woodpeckers. They’re also a little smaller than Hairy Woodpeckers. Female Downy Woodpeckers do not have a red patch on their heads.
Small birds like nuthatches and chickadees are regularly observed with Downy Woodpeckers.
They can be seen in open woodlands, parks, orchards, and backyards, although they are most frequently observed at bird feeders. They’re also common among tall weeds.
Downy Woodpeckers can be seen at bird feeders in the backyard. They are quite active, emitting a high-pitched pik sound as well as a descending wailing cry.
Insects, particularly larvae, as well as nuts, berries, acorns, and grains, are consumed by downy woodpeckers.
Acorn Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpeckers have clown-like traits, including red hats, white cheeks, a black patch across the beak, and black over the backs of their heads and backs.
Their bellies are white with black markings. Female Acorn Woodpeckers have a paler crown than male Acorn Woodpeckers.
Acorn Woodpeckers differ from other woodpeckers in that they live in large groups and gather acorns. Living in oak woodlands throughout western Oregon, California, and Texas, as well as Mexico and Central America.
Acorns and other nuts are collected by these woodpeckers from granary trees, which are masses of holes bored in dead trees throughout the winter.
They will even check acorns that have been kept and transfer them to smaller holes once they have dried.
Insects are not left out when it comes to storage, but this horrific larder of dead bugs is commonly left in gaps or cracks. Fruit and sap, as well as eggs, even those of their own species, are further food sources.
Acorn Woodpeckers are unwelcome visitors since they have been observed drilling holes in wood siding and utility poles, both of which are considered deadwood. They may still pay you a visit if you live near oak forests.
Williamson’s Sapsucker
Williamson’s Sapsucker males are darker than other woodpeckers, with a glossy black back, vertical wing patches, red throat, and yellow belly. Females have a brown head, a black breast patch, and the more common black and white pattern on their backs.
Williamson’s Sapsuckers are migratory birds that spend the summer breeding in western North American mountains and the winter in the southern United States and Mexico.
Williamson’s Sapsuckers are uncommon in Texas, but they can be seen during migration in the Davis Mountains and a few may spend the winter here.
Williamson’s Sapsuckers are infrequently seen at feeders in Texas.
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Lewis’s Woodpeckers are distinct from other woodpeckers in that they catch insects on the wing rather than beating on trees. It has a pink stomach, a grey collar, a black back, and a dark red face, which distinguishes it from its cousins.
Lewis Woodpeckers may be found from British Columbia to California and Texas in the north and south, respectively.
They tend to breed farther north in British Columbia, east to Wyoming, and south to Nevada before migrating south to the southern states. Those living along the Pacific Coast and in the southeast of their range like to stay all year.
American Three-toed Woodpecker
American Three-toed Woodpeckers are uncommon in Minnesota, but they can be seen all year in the state’s northeast.
American Three-toed Male woodpeckers have a yellow patch on their forehead and are little black-and-white woodpeckers.
They have mostly black backs with a white patch and white markings on the wings. The bottom is mostly white with minor black banding.
American Three-toed Woodpeckers mostly feed on beetle larvae, but they also consume ant larvae, moth pupae, and spiders. They peck and strike the tree bark to discover the larvae and spend a long time on each tree. They occasionally drill sap wells to sip the sap.
American Three-toed Woodpeckers build their nests in tree cavities and lay 3–7 eggs. Except during the mating season, they are mostly solitary birds, however, they may couple with the same partner numerous times.
Three-toed American Woodpeckers can be found in mature coniferous woods with dead or decaying trees. Sometimes, bark peeling can be visible on the trees. It is rarely seen at backyard feeders.
Red-headed Woodpecker
The flaming redheads and unique black and white markings of these woodpeckers make them easy to identify. The Red-headed Woodpecker is a medium-sized bird with a powerful spike beak.
They have short tails, white undersides, black backs, and massive white bands on their wings. They have strong territorial defense abilities, including the capacity to steal or destroy other birds’ or ducks’ eggs. Red-headed Woodpeckers, like other woodpeckers, collect insects both in flight and in crevices.
Both male and female Red-headed woodpeckers have similar appearances. Juveniles, on the other hand, have dark hair with no red highlights.
If you see a drab woodpecker with a Red-headed Woodpecker, it’s most likely a mother and her young ones.
One-third of their food consists of insects such as beetles, midges, honey bees, and grasshoppers. Plant components such as seeds, nuts, and berries make up the remaining two-thirds.
If you want to attract Red-headed woodpeckers to your yard then feed them seeds apples, berries, and grapes.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
It is around the size of a robin and is rather little. Males are mostly black, with red brows and scarlet throats. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers dig holes in trees to obtain sap with their brush-tipped tongues.
The male Yellow-bellied sapsucker has a red neck, while the female has a white neck. Yellow-bellied male Sapsuckers have bright red throats. The throats of female yellow-bellied sapsuckers are white.
In juvenile paper birch, yellow birch, red or sugar maple, and hickory trees, they develop crisp horizontal rows of holes. To let the sap flow, the holes must be kept clean.
Young deciduous forests on birch and maple trees are prevalent, with sap wells created in tidy rows to feed.
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