Tree Clinging

Acorn Woodpecker

Melanerpes formicivorus
Acorn Woodpecker thumbnail
Length: 9 in. (23 cm )
This species is dependent on oaks and acorns for its survival. It stores acorns for the winter by jamming surplus acorns one by one into shallow holes pecked out in a tree, telephone pole or fence post. Up to 50,000 acorns have been counted on the trunk of a single \granary\ tree, but it also stores other nuts when they are available. The Acorn Woodpecker is an unusually noisy species and lives in colonies of up to 16 individuals that are made up of at least two breeding pairs and all their offspring from previous nestings. Commonly attracted to seed feeders and occasionally hummingbird feeders in pine-oak woodlands of foothills, it nests in holes made in trees and poles.

The four-digit banding code is ACWO.

Female | Robert Shantz


Oak-pine woodland

Savanna
Bird Sound Type: Buzzing
Sex of Bird: Male
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Bibliographic details:

  • Article: Acorn Woodpecker
  • Author(s): Dr. Biology
  • Publisher: Arizona State University School of Life Sciences Ask A Biologist
  • Site name: ASU - Ask A Biologist
  • Date published: July 13, 2017
  • Date accessed: March 7, 2024
  • Link: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/acorn-woodpecker

APA Style

Dr. Biology. (2017, July 13). Acorn Woodpecker. ASU - Ask A Biologist. Retrieved March 7, 2024 from https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/acorn-woodpecker

American Psychological Association. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

Chicago Manual of Style

Dr. Biology. "Acorn Woodpecker". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 13 July, 2017. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/acorn-woodpecker

MLA 2017 Style

Dr. Biology. "Acorn Woodpecker". ASU - Ask A Biologist. 13 Jul 2017. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 7 Mar 2024. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/activities/bird/acorn-woodpecker

Modern Language Association, 7th Ed. For more info, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/
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