Lewis's Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis)

Lewis's Woodpecker, Cabin Lake Viewing Blinds, Deschutes National Forest, Near Fort Rock, Oregon
Photograph by Alan And Elaine Wilson. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

LEWIS'S WOODPECKER FACTS

Description
Lewis's Woodpecker is a large gray-green woodpecker with a red face, black rump and pink-red breast. It has a pale gray collar and upper breast and pink belly. The wings are broad giving it a slow wing beat. The bill and feet are gray.

Size
25cm - 28cm

Environment
open pine woodlands, grassland and shrubland with scattered trees.

Food
digs out insects by boring into trees with its bill, and catches insects in flight. Also feeds on berries and nuts. It stores nuts in cracks and holes in trees for winter food.

Breeding
Lewis's Woodpecker nests in a hole made in a dead tree branch. The female lays five to nine white eggs. The young leave the nest about 4 to 5 weeks after hatching.

Range
western and central United States. In winter, ranges from northern Mexico to southern Canada.

Classification

Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Picidae
Genus:	Melanerpes
Species:	lewis
Common Name:	Lewis's Woodpecker

Relatives in same Genus
  Golden-fronted Woodpecker (M. aurifrons)
  Red-bellied Woodpecker (M. carolinus)
  Golden-cheeked Woodpecker (M. chrysogenys)
  Red-headed Woodpecker (M. erythrocephalus)
  Acorn Woodpecker (M. formicivorus)
  Black-cheeked Woodpecker (M. pucherani)
  Gila Woodpecker (M. uropygialis)

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