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.
Image: Acorn woodpecker holding a nut in its beak 0225
Image: Melanerpes formicivorus Madera Canyon, Arizona, USA female 8 2c
Female M. f. lineatus, Honduras
Male M. f. flavigula, Colombia
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known that live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts, and the Gila woodpecker specialises in exploiting cacti. Woodpeckers are known as the loudest birds of the forest.
Woodpecker
A black-rumped flameback using its tail for support
Diagram showing the hyoid bone of Dendrocopos major
Use of cacti for breeding and roosting holes allows some woodpeckers to live in treeless deserts, such as the ladder-backed woodpecker, which uses cacti for nesting.
