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WoodlandCavity nestMedium · 80 g
What the Acorn Woodpecker sounds like
ID tip
The adult acorn woodpecker has a brownish-black head, back, wings and tail, white forehead, throat, belly and rump. The eyes are initially dark in fledglings, turning to white within a few months. There is a small part on the small of their backs where there are some greenish feathers. The bird is mostly black, with adult males have 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. When flying, they take a few flaps of their wings and drop a foot or so.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Acorn Woodpecker
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Acorn Woodpecker
The map shades 10 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Canada.
About the Acorn Woodpecker
The acorn woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker with a length of around 20 cm (8 in), and an average weight of 85 g (3.0 oz). It is found across Central America, as well as North into the western United States and South into parts of Colombia.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalusAdults are distinctly tricolored, with a black back and tail, a white belly and rump, and a red head and neck.
Golden-fronted WoodpeckerMelanerpes aurifronsThe golden-fronted woodpecker is 22 to 26 cm (8.7 to 10 in) long and weighs 65 to 102 g (2.3 to 3.6 oz).
Gila WoodpeckerMelanerpes uropygialisThe back and wings of this bird are spotted and barred with a black and white zebra-like pattern.
Side by side: Acorn Woodpecker vs Red-bellied Woodpecker · Acorn Woodpecker vs Red-headed Woodpecker · Acorn Woodpecker vs Golden-fronted Woodpecker · Acorn Woodpecker vs Gila Woodpecker
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