FEMALE LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, RANCHITO RD, JALISCO, MEXICO, 12/15/2023 - NEW LIFE SPECIES

   We can ID this woodpecker as a female Ladder-backed Woodpecker as follows:

• Barred black and white pattern (more black then white) on its back and wings with long white bars resembling the rungs of a ladder.
• The face is black and white with a buffy patch in front of eye (see first photo) and a black line that  extends from the bill through the eye to the neck.
• Black crown.
• Whitish underparts speckled with black and having a yellowish wash.

   The Ladder-backed Woodpecker is a new species to our ebird Photographic Life List.  Our ebird Life List now stands at 1,091.