Acorn Woodpecker
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Piciformes Family: Picidae Genus: Melanerpes Species: M. formicivorus
Binomial name
Melanerpes formicivorus (Swainson, 1827)

The Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) is a medium-sized woodpecker, 21 cm long with an average weight of 85 g. Acorn Woodpecker from US BLM Source: Bureau of Land Management, Oregon/Washington, Medford District File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... For other uses, see Bird (disambiguation). ... Families Galbulidae Bucconidae Capitonidae Ramphastidae Picidae Indicatoridae For prehistoric taxa, see text Six families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. ... Genera About 30, see text The avian family Picidae includes the woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks. ... Species See text. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... William Swainson William Swainson (October 8, 1789 - December 6, 1855), was an English ornithologist and artist. ... Genera Melanerpes Sphyrapicus Xiphidiopicus Dendropicos Dendrocopos Picoides Veniliornis Campethera Geocolaptes Dinopium Meiglyptes Hemicircus Micropternus Picus Mulleripicus Dryocopus Celeus Piculus Colaptes Campephilus Chrysocolaptes Reinwardtipicus Blythipicus Gecinulus Sapheopipo For other uses, see Woodpecker (disambiguation). ...

The adult has a black head, back, wings and tail, white forehead, throat, belly and rump. The eyes are white. The adult male has a red cap starting at the forehead, whereas females have a black area between the forehead and the cap. The white neck, throat and forehead patches are distinctive identifiers.

Breeding communities

The breeding habitat is forested areas with oaks in the hills of coastal California and the southwestern United States south to Colombia. This species may occur at low elevations in the north of its range, but rarely below 1000m in Central America, and it breeds up to the timberline. The breeding pair excavate a nest in a large cavity in a dead tree or a dead part of a tree. A group of adults may participate in nesting activities: Field studies have shown that breeding groups range from monogamous pairs to breeding collectives of seven males and three females, plus up to 10 nonbreeding helpers. Young have been found with multiple paternity.^[1] Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus (from Latin oak tree), and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ... Helpers at the nest is a term used in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology to describe a social structure in which juveniles, of one or both sexes, remain in association with their parents and help them in raising subsequent broods or litters, instead of dispersing and beginning to reproduce themselves. ...

Acorn hoarded by Acorn Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpeckers are larder hoarders. Breeding groups gather acorns and create a granary by drilling holes in a dead tree, or a dead branch on a live tree, and stuffing acorns into them. The acorns are visible, and the group defends the tree against potential cache robbers. The acorns represent a significant part of their diet; they also eat insects, picking them off tree bark or catching them in flight, and in addition fruit, seeds and sometimes tree sap. Acorn hoarded by Acorn Woodpecker. ... Acorn hoarded by Acorn Woodpecker. ...

This bird is a permanent resident throughout its range. They may relocate to another area if acorns are not readily available. It is sedentary and very sociable. For other uses, see Acorn (disambiguation). ...

References

1. ^ Joste, N., Ligon, D., and Stacey, P. (1985) Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology; Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 17(1):39-41

• BirdLife International (2004). Melanerpes formicivorus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• Haydock J., Koenig W. D., & Stanback, M. T. (2001). Shared parentage and incest avoidance in the cooperatively breeding acorn woodpecker. Molecular Ecology, 10, 1515-1525.
• Stiles, F Gary & Alexander Frank Skutch (1989), written at Ithaca, New York, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica, Comstock, ISBN 0-8014-2287-6

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... For other places or objects named Ithaca, see Ithaca (disambiguation). ... This article is about the state. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Melanerpes formicivorus

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology species account
• Acorn Woodpecker, a bibliographic resource
• USGS
• Acorn Woodpecker videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Stamps (for El Salvador, Mexico) with RangeMap
• Acorn Woodpecker photo gallery VIREO-(distinctive white face-throat patches)
• Photo-High Res FWS-Fish & Wildlife Service: Digital Repository