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Difference between revisions of "Lewis's Woodpecker" - BirdForum Opus

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;Melanerpes lewis
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[[Image:Lewiss_Woodpecker.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Photo &copy; by {{user|day5creations|day5creations}}<!--EDITORS: there is no location/date information supplied on picture-->]]
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[[Image:Lewiss_Woodpecker.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by day5creations]]
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;[[:Category:Melanerpes|Melanerpes]] lewis
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==Identification==
 
==Identification==
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The Lewis's Woodpecker, Melanerpes lewis, is a large North American species of woodpecker which was named for Meriwether Lewis, one of the explorers who surveyed the areas bought by the United States of America during the Louisiana Purchase.
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26–29 cm (10¼-11½ in) <br />
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*Metallic greenish black upperparts
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One of the largest species of American woodpeckers, Lewis's Woodpecker can be as large as 10 to 11 inches in length. It is mainly a blackish-green in color with a black rump. It has a gray collar and upper breast, with a pinkish belly, and a red face. The wings are much broader than those of other woodpeckers, and it flies at a much more sluggish pace with slow, but even flaps similar to those of a crow.
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*Grey collar and breast
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*Pinkish-red belly
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10 1/2 -11 1/2" (27-29 cm). Smaller than a flicker. Metallic greenish black above; gray collar and breast; pinkish-red belly; dark red face framed with greenish black. Sexes alike. Flight is crow-like, not undulating.
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*Dark red face framed with greenish black<br />
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Sexes Similar
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
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Breeds from southern British Columbia and Alberta south to central California, northern Arizona, and northern New Mexico. Winters from southern British Columbia and Oregon to Colorado and south to northern Mexico; wanders east to Great Plains. It ranges mostly in the western to central United States, but can winter as far south as the US border with Mexico and summer as far north as Canada.
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[[Image:1268Lewis s fledge-2004.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Fledgling (note lack of red on face and just the first blush of color on breast)<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|Katy+Penland|Katy Penland}}<br />Overgaard, [[Arizona]] yard, July 2004]]
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Most of the western United States west of the Dakotas, except rare in the coast states.<br />
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Rare vagrant to the plains states.<br />
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Casual vagrant to the northeast.
  
 
==Taxonomy==
 
==Taxonomy==
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This is a [[Dictionary_M-S#M|monotypic]] species<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>.
 
==Habitat==
 
==Habitat==
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Open pine-oak woodlands, oak or cottonwood groves in grasslands, ponderosa pine country. Lewis's Woodpecker is locally common, dwelling mostly in open pine woodlands, and other areas with scattered trees.
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Open pine-oak woodlands, oak or cottonwood groves in grasslands, ponderosa pine country.  
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==Behaviour==
 
==Behaviour==
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It lays 6-8 white eggs in a cavity in a dead stump or tree limb, often at a considerable height. Nests in loose colonies. Usually silent, but occasionally gives a low churring note.
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====Breeding====
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Unlike most woodpeckers, Lewis's does not peck at wood for food and is seen more often on top of a fence post than clinging to it vertically. As with the Acorn Woodpecker, its main method of getting food is catching flying insects; both species also store acorns and other nuts for winter, and sometimes damage fruit orchards. Lewis's is the common woodpecker of mountain ranchlands, and some ranchers call it the "Crow Woodpecker" because of its dark color, large size, and slow flight. Unlike other American woodpeckers, it enjoys sitting in the open as opposed to sitting in heavy tree cover. Lewis's Woodpecker engages in some rather un-woodpecker-like behaviour in its gregarious feeding habits. Although it does forage for insects by boring into trees with its chisel-like bill, the bird also catches insects in the air during flight, a habit that only a few other woodpeckers, such as the Acorn woodpecker, the Red-headed Woodpecker and the Northern flicker, engage in. Lewis's Woodpecker also feeds on berries and nuts, and will even shell and store nuts in cracks and holes in wood to store until winter.
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They lay 6-8 white eggs in a cavity in a dead stump or tree limb, often at quite a height. The male makes the nest and both parents incubate for 12 days. They nest in loose colonies.
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====Diet====
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Their main diet consists of flying insects in a similar way to the [[Acorn Woodpecker]]. They also store acorns and other nuts for winter, and sometimes damage fruit orchards.  
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====Vocalisation====
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[[Image:Arastradero 2008-01-191.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo &copy; by {{user|djleahy|djleahy}}<br />Arastradero Open Space Preserve, Palo Alto, [[California]], January 2008]]
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They are generally silent, but they occasionally give a low churring note.
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====Action====
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Flight is crow-like, not undulating.
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==References==
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#{{Ref-Clements6thAug18}}#National Geographic
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#Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2017)
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{{ref}}
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==External Links==
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{{GSearch|"Melanerpes lewis" {{!}} "Lewis Woodpecker"}}
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{{GS-checked}}1
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<br />
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<br />
  
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Lewis's Woodpecker nests in a cavity excavated from a dead tree branch. The nest is constructed mainly by the male. The female will lay between 5 and 9 eggs, which are plain white in coloration. Incubation is done by both sexes -the female sitting during the day and the male sitting at night- and lasts approximately 12 days, after which the young will hatch. The young leave the nest 4 to 5 weeks after hatching.
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[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Melanerpes]]
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==External Links==
 
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{{GSearch|Melanerpes+lewis}}
 
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[[Category:Birds]]
 

Latest revision as of 21:57, 9 February 2023

Photo © by day5creations
Melanerpes lewis

Identification

26–29 cm (10¼-11½ in)

  • Metallic greenish black upperparts
  • Grey collar and breast
  • Pinkish-red belly
  • Dark red face framed with greenish black

Sexes Similar

Distribution

Fledgling (note lack of red on face and just the first blush of color on breast)
Photo © by Katy Penland
Overgaard, Arizona yard, July 2004

Most of the western United States west of the Dakotas, except rare in the coast states.
Rare vagrant to the plains states.
Casual vagrant to the northeast.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Open pine-oak woodlands, oak or cottonwood groves in grasslands, ponderosa pine country.

Behaviour

Breeding

They lay 6-8 white eggs in a cavity in a dead stump or tree limb, often at quite a height. The male makes the nest and both parents incubate for 12 days. They nest in loose colonies.

Diet

Their main diet consists of flying insects in a similar way to the Acorn Woodpecker. They also store acorns and other nuts for winter, and sometimes damage fruit orchards.

Vocalisation

Photo © by djleahy
Arastradero Open Space Preserve, Palo Alto, California, January 2008

They are generally silent, but they occasionally give a low churring note.

Action

Flight is crow-like, not undulating.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. National Geographic
  3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2017)

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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