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Gila Woodpecker

Melanerpes uropygialisOrder: PICIFORMESFamily: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Gila Woodpecker Portrait
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General

Gila Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black-and-white barred upperparts, buff-gray belly, and buff-gray neck and underparts. Head is buff-gray with a small red cap. Wings have prominent white patches visible in flight. Female and juvenile are similar but lack red caps.

Range and Habitat

Gila Woodpecker: Resident in southeastern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Preferred habitats include low desert scrub with saguaro or mesquite trees for nesting.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"churrrrrrr"

Interesting Facts

  • When a pair of Gila Woodpeckers excavates a nest hole in a saguaro cactus, it typically does not use it for several months. Drying time is required for the inner pulp of the cactus to form a solid casing around the cavity.
  • The male forages mainly on the trunk and main branches of saguaro cacti, while the female concentrates on the periphery and diseased areas.
  • A group of woodpeckers has many collective nouns, including a "descent", "drumming", and "gatling" of woodpeckers.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Gila Woodpecker
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Melanerpes uropygialis
Length8 - 10 Inches
Wingspan16.5 Inches

Gila Woodpecker

Gila Woodpecker: Medium woodpecker, black-and-white barred upperparts and central tail feathers, buff-gray neck and underparts. Buff-gray head has a small red cap. Wings have large white patches visible in flight. Its abandoned nesting and roost holes provide shelter for birds, mammals and reptiles.

● Song: "churrrrrrr"

● Foraging & Feeding: Gila Woodpecker: Eats insects, bird eggs, fruits, and berries.

● Breeding & nesting: Gila Woodpecker: Three to five white eggs are laid in a hole in a giant saguaro cactus or tree. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Gila Woodpecker: Red-bellied Woodpecker (both parents) has extensive red on the head and nape, and paler underparts. Golden-fronted Woodpecker shows yellow on head, is paler below, and has dark, unmarked, central tail feathers.

Flight Pattern

Undulating flight.
Gila Woodpecker Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Gila Woodpecker: Resident in southeastern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Preferred habitats include low desert scrub with saguaro or mesquite trees for nesting.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationDeclining
MigrationSome migrate
Weight2.5 Ounces