Have you heard what might be interpreted as somebody cackling out in
the woods? It is the Acorn Woodpeckers calling to each other. They are loud boisterous birds of medium-size,
clown-faced with a red
crown, glossy black-and-white head, and glaring white eyes. Their body is black with white
rump
and belly.
One or more red or yellow-tipped throat feathers may be show on the chest. Wings are black with white patches. The female
Woodpecker differs from the male in that she has a black band directly under the red on her forehead.
They store their acorns for winter in a granary tree. It can have
as many as 50,000 holes in it. Sometimes they use human-made structures to store acorns, drilling holes in fence posts,
utility poles, buildings, and even automobile radiators. They can even decide to use your house. This can become a real
problem.
The Acorn Woodpecker has a very complicated social system. Family groups hold territories, and young
woodpeckers stay with their parents for several years and help the parents raise more young. Several different individuals
of each sex may breed within one family, with up to seven breeding males and three breeding females in one group. All
members of an Acorn Woodpecker group spend large amounts of time storing acorns. They make their homes in trees by drilling
perfectly round holes. They do not migrate.
We are lucky to have so many of them living in our piney forests. I suspect the other birds think
they are a little pushy.
To contact Linda:
Linda Gast
www.hummingbirdmountain.com
www.mariposaspca.org
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