The next record was not until 1928. Clearly there has been a change in status. When noted, immatures have outnumbered adults by about two to one. The normal range of this woodpecker lies to the west and south of Nova Scotia. It is a bird of the open countryside, seeming to avoid woodland areas.
Adults are unmistakable, and the large, white wing patches of immatures are diagnostic.
It eats also fruits and nuts in some quantities and is not above taking eggs and young of other birds on occasion. Except in extreme southern Ontario, it is nowhere a common bird in Canada.