Ladder-backed Woodpecker Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Calls
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Texas, December 20, 2016Recorded by Paul Marvin / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Arizona, February 19, 2010Recorded by Bob McGuire / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Texas, April 13, 2013Recorded by Andrew Spencer
Calls
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Nayarit, June 29, 2008Recorded by Eduardo Iñigo Elias / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Arizona, May 21, 2019Recorded by Arch McCallum / Macaulay Library
Drum
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Arizona, March 21, 2000Recorded by Matthew D. Medler / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Calls

The most common call is a loud peek; it is sometimes louder, longer, and higher in pitch than the comparable pit call of Nuttall’s. Pairs use the peek call to stay in contact when they cannot see each other, but males also use it during conflicts. Also, as in other small woodpeckers, there is a rattling call, which sometimes follows the peek call. Other calls, often associated with conflict, include kweek, wicka, twek, and kwah, but these are seldom heard.

Other Sounds

Male Ladder-backed Woodpeckers drum on trees and other hard surfaces in late winter and spring to advertise and mark territories. Their drumming is rapid but short, with about 30 taps per second (Nuttall’s averages 19). Males in conflict sometimes make wing-ruffling sounds when flying over an opponent.