If a suitable tree isn't available, the Red-bellied Woodpecker will excavate a nest in a utility pole or fence post, or even re-use a cavity dug by another woodpecker. If she joins him, they engage in a mutual tapping display before settling down to excavate a nest cavity, usually in a dead tree or limb. The male initiates courtship by drumming to attract the female's attention. They are seasonally monogamous, meaning that pairs remain together for one nesting season. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.Red-bellied Woodpeckers pair off in late winter and early spring. Acorn Woodpecker ( Melanerpes formicivorus). ![]() "Melanerpes formicivorus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Things like habitat loss and degradation are impending threats overgrazing, poor regeneration of oaks in California, and destruction of oak and pine forests for firewood or development are among the biggest threats facing the species. The species at the moments has no special threat status however, there are problems facing the woodpecker. Nestlings leave the nest after 30-32 days." (Koenig 1995). Once the chicks have hatched, all group members participate in providing food. The incubation period is 11 days and both male and female breeders incubate. Eggs are laid at approximately 24-hour intervals. The average clutch size for a singleton female is four eggs. Average clutch size for a group with more than one female is five white, elliptical eggs. The inside of the nest cavity is lined with fresh wood chips, and nest holes may be used repeatedly for several seasons. Nest cavities are drilled into large dead or living limbs in trees or snags, which may contain granaries. Courtship and pair-bonding displays are absent. Reproduction competition between males is displayed by attempts by a male to disrupt copulation between another pair. After females have established a normal laying sequence, egg destruction stops. There is often extreme reproductive competition between joint-nesting females, who regularly destroy eggs laid by their cobreeders. In groups that contain more than one female breeder, the female cobreeders lay their eggs in the same nest cavity. ![]() Generally, Acorn Woodpecker groups contain 1-7 male breeders that compete for matings with 1-3 egg-laying females. "Mating systems of Acorn Woodpeckers range from monogamy in some populations to cooperative polygyny. Only a large group can collect so many acorns and also defend them against other groups." (Koeing 1995). Studies have shown that these granaries are so important that they are one of the main reasons why acorn woodpeckers live in such large families, at least in California. Any dead or living tree with deep dry bark can used as granary. Holes are usually drilled in dead limbs and in thick bark during the winter. A granary tree may hold as many 50,000 holes. The Acorn Woodpecker stores insects in cracks or crevices and nuts in indiviually-drilled holes in graneries. Sapsucking is a communal affair and group members congregate at a set of holes that are used repeatedly for several years. Usually, acorns are removed singly from trees, but the bird may also break off a twig holding up to three acorns. The woodpecker rarely goes to the ground except to pick up grit and fallen acorns. Most foraging, however, is performed in or near the canopy. When foraging, the woodpecker often sits at the tops of trees while flycatching. The bird prefers, however, flying ants and other Hymenoptera and Coleoptera. Occassionally, it eats grass seeds, lizards, and bird eggs. "The main diet of the Acorn Woodpecker consists of insects, sap, oak catkins, fruit, and flower nectar. The Acorn Woodpecker can be found from northwestern Oregon, California, the American Southwest, and western Mexico through the Central American highlands and into the northern Andes of Colombia. Urban parks and suburban areas that possess numerous oak trees are often also home to members of the species." (Koeing 1995). They are also found in riparian corridors and in Douglas fir, redwood, and tropical hardwood forests as long as oaks are available nearby. "The Acorn Woodpecker prefers pine-oak woodland habitat where oak trees are plentiful. The wing length of the woodpecker ranges between 13-15 cm. There usually is some yellow and occasionally one or more red-tipped feathers on the throat. The distinguishing features of this bird is its red-crowned, glossy black and white head, white eyes, and white rump and wing patches. ![]() The Acorn Woodpecker is a small to medium-sized, black and white "clown-faced" bird. Photograph by Gary Kramer, courtesy of the U.S.
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