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Bird name:

Gila Woodpecker

Melanerpes uropygialis

Order

PICIFORMES

Family

Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Code 4

GIWO

Code 6

MELURO

ITIS

178198

Breeding Location:

Desert, Grasslands, Desert, semi

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Declining

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

3 - 5

Incubation Days:

12 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

In saguaro cactus with little lining.

Migration:

Some migrate

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General

Gila Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black-and-white barred upperparts, buff-gray belly, and buff-gray neck and underparts. Head is buff-gray with a small red cap. Wings have prominent white patches visible in flight. Female and juvenile are similar but lack red caps.

Range and Habitat

Gila Woodpecker: Resident in southeastern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Preferred habitats include low desert scrub with saguaro or mesquite trees for nesting.

Breeding and Nesting

Gila Woodpecker: Three to five white eggs are laid in a hole in a giant saguaro cactus or tree. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Gila Woodpecker: Eats insects, bird eggs, fruits, and berries.

Readily Eats

Suet, Sunflower Seed, Nuts, Sugar Water, Fruit

Vocalization

Gila Woodpecker: Song is a rolling "churrrrrr."

Similar Species

Gila Woodpecker: Red-bellied Woodpecker (both parents) has extensive red on the head and nape, and paler underparts. Golden-fronted Woodpecker shows yellow on head, is paler below, and has dark, unmarked, central tail feathers.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Cap

The area on top of the head of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America