Woodpecker Pictures

Types of Woodpeckers Acorn Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Gila Woodpecker Gilded Flicker Northern Flicker Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-breasted Sapsucker Types of Woodpeckers Types of Birds

Most people correctly think of woodpeckers as birds that hammer on trees looking for their next meal. Researchers looking into the question of the relationship between brain damage and woodpecker hammering discovered that woodpecker skulls share many similarities with a football helmet. It is made of a sponge like material that wraps around the brain and cushions it during the hammering.

Woodpeckers enjoy a diverse diet eating insects, fruit, nuts and other readily availiable food. Across species, dietary habits differ slightly. The Acorn Woodpecker, for example, is well known for gathering acorns and placing them in holes in trees for future use. They will also eat insects and fruits.

Flickers, on the other hand, are particularly adapted to ground, as well as tree eating practices. You can often see them walking on the ground looking for ants and other insects.

Most woodpeckers are characterized as sexually dichromatic, meaning the males and females look a bit different. Males typically has a red patch either on the back of the head or on the face.

Male woodpeckers often drum on wood or metal objects in your neighborhood as a way of signaling females. Some people consider the territorial drumming a nuisance when the birds use a wall or roof of their home as the drum.

© 2003-2009 Patricia A. Michaels