Missouri Woodpeckers

to 13 days

Wood you care to know?

• Red-headed woodpeckers are easy to identify because they are the only woodpecker in the eastern U.S. with a solid red head.
• The males and females look alike.
• Their young have brown heads that don't turn red until their first winter.
• Red-headed woodpeckers have tried to adapt to modern landscapes; as large, towering trees became scarce, this species switched to using utility poles and cavities in buildings for nest sites.
• Creosote-coated utility poles are lethal to eggs and young reared in them.
• In winter, some individuals will migrate southward to areas where there is an abundance of acorns, which they often seal in cavities with splinters of wood.
• This species is declining significantly in parts of its range.

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Hard-nosed facts

• common statewide
• 12 inches in length
• eats mostly ants; occasionally seeds, nuts and grain
• lives in forests or in open areas with scattered trees
• nests in cavities excavated in snags, poles, posts, buildings, banks and haystacks
• female and male incubate five to eight eggs for 11 to 14 days
• young fledge in 25 to 28 days
• call is a long, loud, rapid "wik-wik-wik-wik" to "wik-a, wik-a" series
• drums softly in regular bursts

Wood you care to know?

• Flickers are the only woodpeckers that frequently feed on open ground.
• This species flashes white rump and bright yellow color on their wings and tail in flight.
• Males have a black mustache that females lack.
• They consume more ants than any other bird species.
• Their old nest cavities are often used by other species, such as squirrels, eastern screech-owls and American kestrels.
• Flickers are declining significantly in parts of their range.

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

Hard-nosed facts

• uncommon and localized in the southern two-thirds of the state
• 17 inches in length
• eats mostly insects, some fruit, acorns, nuts and sap
• lives in deciduous and coniferous forests, woodlands, parks and suburbs
• nests in cavities excavated in snags (often barkless)
• female and male incubate four eggs for 15 to 18 days
• young fledge in 26 to 28 days
• call is slow, irregular or fast, from "a-wik, a-wik" to "wuk-wuk-wuk" series
• drums loud and steady

Wood you care to know?

• Pileated woodpeckers