A Little Bit More
Typically, woodpeckers eat adult and larval insects that they find on trees, although the flickers feed mostly on the ground. Most species feed on wood-boring beetles, ants, aphids, flies, caterpillars, bugs, and other insects, but some eat acorns, pine seeds, nuts, berries, fruit, grain, and even sap from trees. Their tongues have a barbed tip or sticky secretion that helps them extract their prey from the wood; in some species, the tongue may extend 15 cm (6”) beyond the bill during feeding. Woodpeckers have very strong head and neck muscles to power their hammering, but also have thick-walled skulls to absorb the resulting shock. When a woodpecker drills, it aims its strikes first from one side, then the other, much as a woodsman chops down a tree with an axe. Once a woodpecker has searched one tree satisfactorily, it flies to the base of another and hops up the trunk, often in a spiral, listening and visually inspecting cracks and crevices for insects.
Northern Flicker © Solon Morse
Woodpeckers are hole nesters. They usually excavate a new nest each year, and their abandoned nest holes are an important source of nest sites for many other cavity nesting birds and mammals. Once a site is selected, the bird drills into the trunk and then tunnels downward to make a cavity that may be as much as 30 cm (1’) deep. There is no nest lining for their white eggs, and no need to camouflage those hidden eggs with the spots and speckles common to the eggs of birds that have exposed nests.
Definitions
Incubate: to sit on eggs so body heat will allow them to develop
Activities
Haiku Poetry
Objectives: Write Haiku (creative writing)
Materials: Internet access and paper and pencil
Try Your Hand at Writing Haiku Poetry
Go to this site and read how haiku poetry is created. Once you understand the basics, use one of the Electronic Naturalist mini-posters as a source (you can access last year’s 30 units too) and write a haiku.
Key Concepts
Behavior and Regulation, Identification
Questions
Do you have a question for a naturalist? Go ahead and ask!
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Posted by Patricia Loik on August 08, 2006 at 09:48 PM
Q: We have been watching a Woodpecker at our cottage for the last several weeks. It has grown from about 6 inches to about 12 inches in the last two weeks. We are sure that it is a Pileated Woodpecker, given it's Woody Woodpecker red crest. It actually seems fearless, coming within several feet of humans and not at all concernced with the dogs (who we held on to). In addition, on Friday it seemed to have trouble flying,just some very short flights,however, by Monday, it was flying quite well. My questions are;
1) Are Pileated Woodpeckers common in the Parry Sound/Rosseau area of Ontario Canada?
2) Was it's difficulty flying when we saw it on Friday due to it's rapid growth?
3) Are they always so fearless?
Thanks for your response.
Pat Loik.
A: Are Pileated Woodpeckers common in the Parry Sound/Rosseau area of Ontario Canada? The Pileated Woodpecker is found in all but the most northern areas of Ontario but I can't be sure it's "common" in your area. This particular woodpecker is usually found in rather mature forests (forests with large trees)rather than scrubby areas with smaller trees so I assume you have some large trees in your area. Are you sure the 6"-grown-up-to-12" woodpecker is the same bird? Once a young woodpecker leaves the nest cavity, it is very close to being full-sized and wouldn't grow twice as large at that point. I think you've seen two different birds. A full-grown Pileated is about 15-17" in length and about the size of a crow. Your 6" bird is probably a different species.
2) Was it's difficulty flying when we saw it on Friday due to it's rapid growth? I really can't say for sure what was going on with the flying but it seems to me that if it were having a problem, or at least was a poor flier, it may be due to its youth. Young birds simply are not as good as older ones when they first begin to fly. Maybe you saw it very soon after leaving its nest and it hadn't gotten very good at flying yet.
3) Are they always so fearless? In my experience, Pileated Woodpeckers are quite shy and don't allow people to get close at all. Those in my area fly away immediately when they see people. So, I'm guessing that your young bird simply hasn't learned to be cautious yet. It's amazing that at times young birds can be quite tame and allow people to approach within a short distance.
Hope this helps. Thanks for asking and thanks too for such a great description of events.
Posted by Curious on June 15, 2005 at 09:51 AM
Q:
I live in New Hampshire, semi-rural, and we started putting out bird houses and bird food (in a feeder on a pole). We've attracted a variety of birds. One morning the pole was knocked over, but it had been windy and wasn't in the ground too well, so we attributed it to the weather and poor installation on our part.
We got a new pole, did a better job installing it, and added a suet feed and also woodpecker food in separate baskets. It was only up a few days before it was all knocked down again - this time there was no severe weather, and to top it off, the woodpecker food cage (which was hanging off the pole) is completely missing, and the bird food was completely eaten, although the suet remained.
Is woodpecker food a particular favorite of some animal (besides woodpeckers), that can knock a pole over and cart off the food (which probably weighed a half pound or a pound in its cage). Raccoons might have knocked it over, but I don't know that they could make off with the cage of woodpecker food. A bear perhaps?
A: I could easily believe that a bear has found your feeding station. Bears regularly raid bird feeders for some extra tasty food. I'm a bit unsure, however, why it wouldn't have eaten the suet though - bears love fat. Raccoons certainly are able climbers that also like to eat bird food and can often knock down a feeder and get into places that seems precarious so you're right to suspect them too.
I do have a suggestion that may clear up your mystery. Spread some dirt at the base of your pole and before dark, wet the dirt down well so it's muddy. Be sure you have at least some food on the pole to attract your nightly raider. In the morning you should be able to see tracks in the mud and that should give you your answer. Good luck and thanks for asking.
Posted by sara on September 06, 2004 at 06:59 AM
Q: Do beetles have tongues?
A: No, beetle do not have tongues. They do have rather sharp, strong mandibles that work side-to-side rather than up and down as our jaws work.
Posted by Susan Rout on January 22, 2004 at 05:23 PM
Q: I live in central wisconsin and noticed that a birch log.. that I drilled holes in and fill with peanut butter has been eaten regularly..but never saw any woodpeckers..we have many grosbeaks.but I didn't think it was them..a few days ago I saw a LARGE woodpecker at my suet feeder and before I could go outside he flew away..but today I saw him again and I believe it was a pilliated..my bird book shows no woodpecker with a woodywoodpecker crest except the Ivory bill and the pilliated..now I have seen pilliated before in our area..but it did not seem so colorful..do they inhabit this area and do they turn more colorful in the winter? its a stunning bird..Thank you..Sue Rout
A: You did see a Pileated Woodpecker, they're found throughout Wisconsin in the right habitat. Males have an entirely red crown while female crowns have red only toward the back of the head. Neither male nor female changes color from winter to summer - they're the same all year round. The reason you may have thought it more colorful was that you got a better look this time or that the lighting was better. Lucky you!
Posted by Pat Fojut on November 15, 2003 at 12:05 AM
Q: fascinating facts about crows, american crows. and how are they doing against west nile virus/?
A: Crows are especially suseptible to West Nile Virus and are therefore being used as monitors of the disease across North America. There are a variety of sites on the web that provide good data on the spread of the disease. You may want to look at this site:
Posted by Jana Atwell on July 07, 2003 at 12:34 PM
Q: Is it possible that the woodpeckers also randomly tap trees to hear which are hollow inside? Carpenter ants create hollow area in trees, although bark beetles do not. Since the bark beetles are closer to the surface, could it be that they are easier to hear?
I am interested in recieving info from this website. I am a naturalist at an outdoor school in N.E. PA. Can I print out info and illustrations for our outdoor education center?
Thanks!
Jana
A: I'm sure how woodpeckers find hollow trees but it does make sense that they may simply peck at random until they find one. I do know that they like to drum on hollow trees to magnify their hammering during mating season (sometimes they like the sound of someone's house siding or roof too).
Insects near the surface of a trunk probably are easier to hear so they may be the first ones exposed by hungry woodpeckers.
Feel free to use the Electronic Naturalist material at your center but be sure to give us credit with our website address on all reproduced material.
Posted by dylan on June 06, 2003 at 04:53 PM
Q: What kind of bugs do the woodpeckers eat?
A: Go back to the poster and read the "A Little Bit More" section and you will see a variety of insects listed that they feed on.
Posted by Jill Taylor on March 27, 2003 at 10:30 AM
Q: Why do pilliated woodpeckers make square entrance holes. I see so many half finished square holes...is there another reason they make these other than house building?
A: Pileated Woodpeckers are well known for making rectangular holes and when you see these, you can be reasonably sure who made them. When not creating nesting holes, these woodpeckers are excavating mostly for Carpenter Ants and various beetle grubs within the tree. One often sees several of these rectangular cavities because the birds are finding insects at different spots on a particular tree. Why they make this particularly shaped hole is not known. Maybe it improves their ability to locate these insects, but that's only a guess.