Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers are in the Picidae family. Family members that have been spotted in North America include woodpeckers, flickers, and sapsuckers. These birds are especially adapted for finding their meals on trunks of trees. Their skulls are extra thick so they are not injured by their constant pecking on trees, while their beaks are sharpened into points to peck holes and reach inside to get their food. Along with long beaks, members of this bird family usually have long long tongues with a tiny barb at the end, allowing them to grab onto insects in their never-ending quest for food.

Although there are 213 species of these birds around the world, only 22 species live and breed in North America. Here are a few of the birds that live in North America.

Acorn Woodpecker - A western U.S. native, these birds are noisy and forms family groups, feeding and living together.

Arizona Woodpecker - Found only in southern Arizona and a bit of New Mexico as well as Mexico, this is a relatively quiet bird that will spiral upwards around a trunk of a tree, looking for its next meal.

Black-backed Woodpecker - Found in many parts of Canada and some northwestern sections of the U.S., this bird has three toes like the Three-toed Woodpecker.

Downy Woodpecker - This woodpecker is the smallest North American one and is found all over the United States and Canada, except for the far northern regions. Tempt them to your feeders with suet, sunflower seed, and peanut butter.

Gila Woodpecker - Found in the far southwest, Gila Woodpeckers use abandoned nests of other birds, animals and even reptile to roost. They have a zebra-like marking on their back.

Gilded Flicker - Gorgeous large bird (10 - 12 inches in length) with a golden tail and under-wings, light brown back with black barring and a red mustache. It lives in the deserts of far southern Arizona and western Mexico.

Golden-fronted Woodpecker - These birds prefer Texas and Mexico to reside and are very similar to Red-bellied Woodpeckers.

Hairy Woodpecker - Look for this shy but loud bird anywhere in North America where there is a forest.

Ladder-backed Woodpecker - Only a little over 7 inches in length, this bird loves the arid lands of the Southwest, with a favorite food of ants.

Lewis's Woodpecker - Found in the western half of North America, this bird is mostly black with a pink belly and is sometimes mistaken for a crow or blackbird.

Northern Flicker - This is a large woodpecker, from 12 - 14 inches in length with a corresponding large appetite. It is found throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Pileated Woodpecker - The largest of North American woodpeckers at 16 - 19 inches in length, the males will drum to advertise their breeding territory as well as to attract a mate. They are found in the eastern areas as well as the far western areas of the United States and many parts of south and central Canada.

Red-breasted Sapsucker - Look for these birds along the Pacific coast. Along with drinking sap from drilled holes, they will also tear off bark of trees to get to the sap. Males and females are identical.

Red-bellied Woodpecker - Widespread throughout the eastern half of the U.S., these common noisy birds will eat insects, seed, suet, fruit, and even sap.

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker - Look for white cheeks on this southern U.S. bird. This bird will only nest in a living pine tree and is endangered.

Red-headed Woodpecker - While the male may bore a nesting spot in a tree, these birds usually catch their meals in the air instead of on a tree. Normally found in the eastern or central part of the U.S. and southern Canada.

Red-naped Sapsucker - Both species will drum on trees during breeding season. Similar to the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, these birds live primarily in the western section of North America.

Three-toed Woodpecker - Widespread throughout Canada and in the Rocky Mountains of the United States, this bird peels off bark to look for insects beneath as well as in burned and rotted wood. And of course, this bird has three toes like the Black-backed Woodpecker.

White-headed Woodpecker - Living in the forested mountains of the western U.S., this bird is the only woodpecker with a white head.

Williamson's Sapsucker - Shy secretive birds that lives in the mountainous regions of western U.S. and a bit of Canada. Because the male and females are so differently colored, they were once thought to be different species.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - These birds may make a cat-like sound. They are the most widespread of the North American sapsuckers and will bore small holes, usually in horizontal lines that will fill up with sap for them to drink. They will also eat insects that some to the sap along with sugar water in feeders, suet, fruit, and some tree buds.

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