Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Dryobates scalaris)

Ladder-backed Woodpecker Dryobates scalaris

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic note
Dryobates scalaris (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) was previously placed in the genus Picoides.

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	5,350,000 km²	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	2000000-2800000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2020
Population trend	stable	-	estimated	-
Generation length	3.09 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population has been estimated at 5,500,000 mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2020). In North America (USA and Canada), the total population size is estimated at 2,400,000 mature individuals (Partners in Flight 2020). This species is considered to have a medium dependency on forest habitat, and tree cover is estimated to have declined by 7.1% within its mapped range over the past three generations (10 years) (Global Forest Watch 2022, using Hansen et al. [2013] data and methods disclosed therein). In North America (USA and Canada), the species' population trend is not known, however it is noted that it is common in Mexico, which holds well over half of the total population, it is reported to be common, even in heavily disturbed areas (Partners in Flight 2024). Based on this data, the global population size is considered to be stable over three generations.

Trend justification: This species has had stable population trends over the last 40 years in North America (data from Breeding Bird Survey and/or Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007). Note, however, that these surveys cover less than 50% of the species's range in North America.

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor
Belize	extant	native	yes
El Salvador	extant	native	yes
Guatemala	extant	native	yes
Honduras	extant	native	yes
Mexico	extant	native	yes
Nicaragua	extant	native	yes
USA	extant	native		yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 3550 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Ladder-backed Woodpecker Dryobates scalaris. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/ladder-backed-woodpecker-dryobates-scalaris on 24/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 24/11/2024.