Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)

Lakeside Park, CA
2008-03-15

The Acorn Woodpecker is a robin-sized woodpecker (Family: Picidae,Order: Piciformes) found relatively near human residence. The woodpecker has black wings and a black back, a white belly, white eyes, white cheeks, and a red patch on the nape. The female woodpecker has a black spot on the red patch on the front side.

Lakeside Park, CA
2008-03-15

The male has all red patch reaching up to the white forehead.

The feet of the woodpecker are zygodactyl, that is to say, two toes go forward and the other two backward (Photo: Zygodactyl Feet of Acorn Woodpecker). The woodpecker has a yellow patch on the throat (Photo: An Acorn Woodpecker showing a yellow patch on the throat).

Lakeside Park, CA
2008-03-15

The woodpecker is known to hide acorns in the holes on tree trunks.

Lakeside Park, CA
2008-03-15

This individual was found searching the hole for foods.

Lakeside Park, CA
2008-03-15

It took out the acorn.

Lakeside Park, CA
2008-03-15

It then flew away with the acorn in its mouth.

The photo shows the tree trunks covered with the holes, many of them filled up with acorns.

Other Picidae species:

Red-Bellied Woodpecker
*Melanerpes carolinus*

Acorn Woodpecker• American Coot• American Crow• American Robin• American White Ibis• American White Pelican• Anhinga• Audubon's Warbler• Black Phoebe• Black-Capped Chickadee• Blue Jay• Boat-Tailed Grackle• Brewer's Blackbird• Brown Pelican• Bufflehead• Canada Goose• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee• Collared-Dove• Common Gallinule• Common Goldeneye• Common Grackle• Double-Crested Cormorant• Downy Woodpecker• European Starling• Fox Sparrow• Glossy Ibis• Golden-Crowned Sparrow• Graylag Goose• **Great Blue Heron• Great Egret• Herring Gull• House Sparrow• **Killdeer• Least Bittern• Least Sandpiper• Lesser Goldfinch• Limpkin• Lincoln's Sparrow• Mallard• Mourning Dove• Northern Cardinal• Northern Mockingbird• Oak Titmouse• Osprey• Palm Warbler• Pied-Billed Grebe• Purple Finch• Red-Bellied Woodpecker• Red-Breasted Nuthatch• Red-Winged Blackbird• Ring-Billed Gull• Ringed Plover• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet• Sanderling• Sandhill Crane• Semipalmated Sandpiper• Sharp-Shinned Hawk• Short-Tailed Hawk• Snowy Egret• Song Sparrow• Spotted Towhee• Steller's Jay• Tricolored Heron• Trumpeter Swan• Tufted Titmouse• Turkey Vulture• Western Grebe• Western Gull• Western Meadowlark• Western Scrub Jay• **Western Swamphen• White-Breasted Nuthatch• White-Crowned Sparrow• Wild Turkey• Willet• Wood Stork