While there are exceptions, such as the Acorn Woodpeckers who live in social communities, most woodpeckers live alone or in pairs. Most woodpeckers in North America are arboreal birds of wooded habitats but there are some species like the Gila Woodpecker that live in deserts and use cacti for nesting.Ī few woodpeckers seasonally leave the northern high elevations of their nesting range while others are "irruptive" species, like some hawks and owls, which will move hundreds or thousands of miles based on their food supply. Males and females often appear similar but the males commonly have more prominent red or yellow head markings. Many woodpecker species exhibit patches of red and yellow on their heads and bellies, and these bright areas play a role in signaling. Unlike other birds woodpeckers have long prehensile tongues with barbed or sticky tips which can probe ants' nests or tunnels made by boring insects.īlack, white, and various shades of gray and brown dominate the colors most commonly found in woodpecker plumage, with green also being seen on some species outside North America. Their strong feet and stiff tail allow them to form a "tripod" which is a very stable stance. The basic body of the woodpecker is comprised of a chisel-like bill used to peel bark or evacuate wood to access insects, and a stiff tail used to prop the bird as it clings to vertical surfaces such as trees or posts. Woodpeckers are known mainly for their pecking and drumming on trees and posts, sapsuckers for their feeding on both tree sap as well as the insects they find caught in it, and flickers for being rather large and commonly hunting for ants on the ground. The most well known of these are commonly grouped under the names woodpeckers, sapsuckers, and flickers.
The woodpecker family, Picidae (pronounced PIH-kih-dee) is made up of two hundred twenty-two species grouped into twenty-eight genera.įifty-seven species of woodpeckers, grouped into fourteen genera, are found in North America. Loss of habitat and nest competition from European Starling are major factors.The taxonomic order PICIFORMES (pronounced pih-kih-FOR-meez) is divided into seven different families which include the colorful toucans, the insect-catching jacamars, puffbirds, honeyguides, barbets, and woodpeckers.
Unfortunately, like so many other birds, their numbers are in decline. They are a unique bird and truly one of America’s favorite backyard birds. When they are visiting your feeders they tend to like peanuts and sunflower chips the best. To the disappointment of many, flickers are quite nomadic in nature. Due to extensive interbreeding in areas where their ranges overlap, they were lumped together at that time.
Up until 1973, they were considered a separate species. To add to the confusion, we occasionally see the western “red-shafted” form of this species here in the fall and winter. The black “moustache” line is only present on males.
The large white rump patch and bright yellow color of the underwing and tail feathers are hard to miss. It is when they fly that they are really flashy. People immediately zero in on the long stout bill, large red “V” on the nape of the neck and the potted breast. Their habit of stealing dog food or cat food from an open dish may add to the confusion as well.Īs most or our woodpeckers are black and white, flickers are not. This extended time on the ground just doesn’t seem right for a woodpecker. One of their more common nicknames is “Ant Bird” which comes from their love of probing ant hill with their long barbed tongues. The confusion for most is that these birds don’t often act like woodpeckers and don’t look much like one either. Well, maybe not to them but for beginning birdwatchers they do. Formally known as the Northern Flicker ( Colaptes auratus ), this rather large member of the woodpecker family suffers from somewhat of an identity crisis. One of the birds that truly confuses people is the flicker.