Breeding Location:
Forest edge, Grassland with scattered trees
Breeding Type:
Monogamous, Solitary nester
Breeding Population:
Uncommon to fairly common
Egg Color:
White
Number of Eggs:
4 - 9
Incubation Days:
13 - 14
Egg Incubator:
Both sexes
Nest Material:
Wood chips or bark pieces in trunks of trees or poles.
Migration:
Some migrate
Recommended Products:
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.
Breeding and 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.
Foraging and 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.
Readily Eats
Suet, Sunflower Seed, Nuts, Sugar Water, Fruit
Vocalization
Lewis's Woodpecker: Generally silent, but in the mating season, utters a chirring sound and a high-pitched, squalling "chee-up", repeated for long periods of time. Near the nest, the adults give a series of sharp "ick, ick, ick."
Similar Species
Lewis's Woodpecker: None in range.
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