Lewis's Woodpecker

Melanerpes lewisOrder: PICIFORMES Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Codes: Common Name: LEWO Scientific Name: MELLEW ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178196

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Overview

Lewis's Woodpecker: Medium woodpecker with black upperparts, hood. Face is dark red, collar is gray, belly is pale red. The bill, legs and feet are black. It was named for Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Its dark plumage sets it apart from all other North American woodpeckers.

Range and Habitat

Lewis's Woodpecker: Breeds from southern British Columbia and Alberta south to central California, northern Arizona, and northern New Mexico. Spends winters from southern British Columbia and Oregon to Colorado and south to northern Mexico. Open pine-oak woodlands, oak, or cottonwood groves in grasslands, and ponderosa pine country are preferred habitats.

Topo Map: Tree-clinging-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chee-up", "ick-ick-ick"

Interesting Facts

The Lewis’s Woodpecker was named for Meriwether Lewis, one of the explorers who surveyed the areas bought by the USA in the Louisiana Purchase.

It seldom excavates wood for boring insects. Instead, it gleans insects from the tree surface, or most commonly, flycatches.

This species is poorly monitored in many parts of its range, but exhibits a significant long-term decline overall. Populations may have declined by as much as 50 % since 1966.

A group of woodpeckers has many collective nouns, including a "descent", "drumming", and "gatling" of woodpeckers.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Yury Lisyak

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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.

Lewis's Woodpecker

● Song: "chee-up", "ick-ick-ick"

● Foraging & Feeding: Lewis's Woodpecker: About one-third of its diet consists of acorns, which it stores in cracks and bark furrows; also eats insects such as ants, crickets, and grasshoppers, also berries, pine nuts, juniper berries, cherries, and apricots.

● Breeding & nesting: Lewis's Woodpecker: Four to nine white eggs are laid in a cavity in a dead stump or tree limb, often at a considerable height. Incubation ranges from 13 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Lewis's Woodpecker: None in range.

Flight Pattern

Crowlike flight., Slow deliberate wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: Lewis's Woodpecker: Breeds from southern British Columbia and Alberta south to central California, northern Arizona, and northern New Mexico. Spends winters from southern British Columbia and Oregon to Colorado and south to northern Mexico. Open pine-oak woodlands, oak, or cottonwood groves in grasslands, and ponderosa pine country are preferred habitats.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationUncommon to fairly common

^MigrationSome migrate

^Weight4.1 Ounces

Tree-clinging-like Body

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.

Collar

Similar to the upper part of the human neck, located at the back of the crown.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

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