Jun 09 2024
Few North American birds have a lifestyle quite as extraordinary as the Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus). With its bold black, white, and red plumage, pale eyes, noisy calls, and highly social personality, this western woodpecker is memorable even before you discover what it does with acorns. Instead of simply eating acorns as they find them, …
May 23 2024
The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is one of the most unusual woodpeckers in North America. Rather than excavating its nesting cavities in dead or decaying trees, this highly specialized bird makes its home almost exclusively inside living pine trees. It depends on mature, open pine forests of the southeastern United States—especially the fire-shaped longleaf pine ecosystem. Known …
Mar 12 2024
The Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) is one of the most characteristic birds of the Sonoran Desert. Where many woodpeckers are strongly associated with forests, this adaptable species has made a home among towering saguaros, desert washes, mesquite groves, palms, and even suburban neighborhoods. Its appearance is distinctive: a warm tan head and underparts contrast with …
Jan 27 2024
The Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) may be small, but it is one of the most recognizable and approachable woodpeckers in North America. This energetic black-and-white bird is a familiar visitor to forests, parks, suburban neighborhoods, and backyard bird feeders, where its compact size allows it to forage in places that larger woodpeckers simply cannot reach. …
