Red-bellied Woodpecker Caching Acorn (1 Viewer)

[Aranyani]

This female red-bellied woodpecker was busy with her harvest chores. I wonder whether she stored this acorn somewhere to retrieve it in winter, or whether she ate it right away and stored it as fat.

 

[Jim M.]

Hi Diane,

Could be either one. Here's some info from BNA:

May store food throughout the year, but most prevalent in fall. Small items are stored whole, but larger objects are usually broken into pieces before storage. Usually uses storage sites that are readily available and require no excavation, such as pre-existing cracks or crevices in trees or posts or in vine rootlets on the trunks of trees. This species lodges food items deep (5–7 cm) in crevices to protect items from other animals. May store food items a few centimeters to >100 m from where collected. May store items from one food source in several locations and apparently does not defend food stores. Appears to have knowledge of where stores are hidden, probably reinforced by habit of occasionally locating and restoring items. Reported to store nuts, acorns, corn, grapes, various seeds and berries, and insects

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Feeds on seeds and nuts with tough seed coats (e.g., sunflower [Helianthus annuus] seeds, hickory nuts) by wedging into crevices in trees or posts, breaking seed coat or shell by hammering with bill, and hammering meat into small pieces (Mueller 1971, Towles 1989). May catch dropped food items when feeding on vertical surfaces by pressing belly and breast against tree with or without cupping action of wing to catch food (Kilham 1983, Reynolds and Lima 1994).
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Best,
Jim

P.S. Enjoy your website and optics reviews.

 

[Aranyani]

Could be either one. Here's some info from BNA:

P.S. Enjoy your website and optics reviews.

Thanks for the good information, Jim. Everyone should know about Cornell's BNA. It's a great source for the latest in ornithological knowledge. And thanks for the kind words, too!