General Information

• There are eight species of woodpeckers found in North Carolina! The Red-cockaded, Hairy, Downy, Pileated, Red-bellied, Red-headed, Yellow-bellied, and Northern Flicker. Not all of these species have the same habitat, so their populations are scattered throughout the state.

       o Of the eight species, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is the only one that is a wintering species, and only arrives in the state during the wintertime. The rest are here year-round.

      o The Red-cockaded woodpecker’s population is currently on the decline. Found primarily in long-leaf pine forests, its habitat has been victim to timber harvesting and altering as any new pine trees planted consist of Loblolly pines. While these are fine trees for fast growth, they allow for a crowded, deciduous understory of growth which is inhospitable for this woodpecker.

       o Since the Ivory-billed woodpecker is critically endangered/possibly extinct, it is not a primary species found in North Carolina, but its range used to extend here as well.

• Woodpeckers prefer habitats with open woodlands or mature, mixed deciduous forests. Leaving dead tree snags in your yard can help attract woodpeckers. One study has shown that a Downy Woodpecker needs at least four to five snags per acre to meet its needs for nesting and foraging.

• The contrasting black and white pattern found on the backs of many woodpeckers helps to conceal them from predators. Known as disruptive coloration, this sharp contrast in colors helps to break-up and conceal the shape and outline of a woodpecker as it climbs the side of a tree.

• Woodpeckers have a better sense of smell than most birds and may be able to detect the strong odor of the formic acid that ants, bark beetles and termites excrete.

• To help distinguish the difference between a Hairy and a Downy Woodpecker visiting your feeders, look for the Hairy’s chisel-like bill which is much longer than the Downy, which often equals the width of the rest of the head. The Downy’s head is twice as wide as its short bill.

• The smallest North American woodpecker is the Downy at 6" in length.

• The Pileated Woodpecker is the second largest North American woodpecker at 19" in length. If the Ivory-billed is still critically endangered and not extinct, it would be the largest at over 20."

• Bird banding longevity records for woodpeckers: Downy = 11 years and 11 months; Hairy = 15 years and 11 months; Pileated = 12 years and 11 months; Red-headed = 9 years and 11 months; Red-bellied = 12 years and 1 months; Northern Flicker = 9 years and 2 months.

Anatomical Adaptations

• Most woodpeckers’ tongues are two to three times longer than their bills.

       o The barbed tip of a woodpecker’s tongue is sensitive to touch and can both detect and impale insect larvae. The tongue is coated with sticky mucus to ensure that its prey does not slip away.

       o The base of their long retractable tongue reaches entirely around the back and top of the skull and ends behind the right eye socket.

• The tail bone, lower vertebrae and the tail’s supporting muscles are also large in comparison to other birds. These modifications allow a woodpecker’s pointed tail to serve as a rigid prop that supports their weight as they climb and cling to trees.

• Woodpeckers have zygodactyl feet - two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing backwards. Having two sets of opposing toes gives them a much better grip on the trees they land on and climb.

• While excavating a cavity, a woodpecker’s head can strike a tree’s surface at speeds up to 13 - 15 mph and do it at over 100 strokes per minute.

• To survive the 10G’s of force that they can sustain with every blow against a tree, woodpeckers have the following special adaptations:
       o The bones between the beak and the skull are joined by a flexible cartilage, which cushions the shock of each blow.
       o The skull is made of spongy, air-filled bone and the brain is packed very tightly into the brain cavity, with little room to rattle around during impacts.
       o The shear force from each blow is directed towards strong neck muscles that act as shock absorbers.
       o The head and body are always in straight alignment when hitting a tree to avoid breaking its neck.

• The skulls and bills of woodpeckers are incredibly strong yet lightweight. The portion of the skull nearest the tip of the bill is also bolstered by extra layers of tough calcification.

       o Special cells on the end of the bill are constantly replacing any lost material from the birds pounding into tree bark. This keeps the chisel-pointed bill strong and resilient, while allowing it to be sharpened with every blow.

       o All woodpecker species have longer, chisel-shaped bills. However, depending on the hardness of the wood they excavate and their foraging style, some species have a slightly different shape bill. For example, the Pileated has a stronger, straighter bill for pounding heavily into the side of a tree. Northern Flickers have a more pointed and slightly curved bill to assist with probing.

       o To prevent small bits of debris from entering their nostrils while excavating trees, woodpeckers have tufts of stiff feathers growing over both nostrils. The amount of stiff feathers these woodpeckers grow varies depending on foraging style.

Feeding Behavior

• For backyard feeding, woodpeckers especially enjoy suet and peanuts. They occasionally go for sunflower and fruit as well.

• As the woodpecker strikes the tree, hollow sounds may echo off the tunnels (galleries) of wood boring insects (like thumping a watermelon.)
       o When feeding on wood, grubs make an audible sound that could be heard by a woodpecker.

• Each species has different food preferences:
       o Beetle larvae and ants make up the largest portions of the Hairy Woodpecker’s natural diet.

       o Sapsuckers can drill as many as fifty holes per hour into trees. These holes fill up with sap, when the sapsucker returns it soaks up the sap with its brushy-tipped tongue. They also feed on the many insects that are attracted to the sweet sap.
               While not a true sapsucker, the Hairy Woodpecker enjoys a sweet drink on occasion as they have been reported to drink from sapsucker wells, hummingbird feeders and even sugar cane plants.

       o Downy Woodpeckers have been recorded to eat at least 44 different kinds of insects, including beetles, ants, weevils, aphids and the eggs of grasshopper, katydids and crickets.
               They favor trees with rough bark since they hold more over-wintering insects than smooth-barked trees.

       o Red-bellied Woodpeckers will eat fruits, insects, an occasional frog or lizard and they have even been observed eating the eggs of chickens.

       o Northern Flickers spend about 75% of their time foraging on the ground in search of ants.

• To increase their security and feeding efficiency, Downy Woodpeckers will often flock and forage together with chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and Hairy Woodpeckers. They rely on the other birds for early warning of predators by recognizing their alarm calls.

       o When threatened by predators, Downy Woodpeckers will freeze motionless against the trunk of a tree and will not return to normal activities for up to ten minutes.

Nesting Behavior

• Depending on the species, woodpeckers can have long-term pair bonds or just seasonal bonds.

• Woodpeckers are cavity nesters. They will create and excavate their own nesting cavities. They often line the nest with nothing more then clean wood chips.
       o It takes two weeks to excavate a cavity.

• Clutch size can vary between four to six eggs. Incubation can take anywhere from 11 to 14 days.

• All woodpeckers lay white eggs. This is possibly because no camouflage coloration is needed on the eggs since they are already hidden in a cavity.

• When they hatch the nestlings are altricial which means they are naked, blind and have no way to defend themselves. It can take anywhere from 21-30 days for the young to fledge the nest.

• Downy Woodpeckers typically excavate new roosting cavities during the autumn months over a period of three to seven days.