Gila woodpecker
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Gila Woodpecker.jpeg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Melanerpes
| species = uropygialis
| authority = (Baird, 1854)
| range_map = Melanerpes uropygialis map.svg
| range_map_caption = Distribution (green)
}}
The Gila woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) is a medium-sized woodpecker of the desert regions of the southwestern United States and western Mexico. In the U.S., they range through southeastern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.
Description
File:Gila_woodpecker_on_Saguaro.jpg next to nesting hole|alt=]]
The back and wings of this bird are spotted and barred with a black and white zebra-like pattern. The neck, throat, belly and head are greyish-tan in color. The male has a small red cap on the top of the head. Females and juveniles are similar, but both lack the red cap of the adult male. White wing patches are prominent in flight. The dark tail has white bars on the central tail feathers. The birds range from {{convert|8|-|10|inch|cm|abbr=on}} in length.
This woodpecker's voice is a rolling churr sound. It also makes a yip yip yip sound and a kee-u, kee-u, kee-u sound. Its drum is long and steady.
Distribution & habitat
This woodpecker's habitat consists of low desert scrub typical of the Sonoran Desert, as well as arroyos (washes) and small towns.{{Cite web|title=Gila Woodpecker Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gila_Woodpecker/overview|access-date=2020-12-30|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en}}
Behavior and ecology
= Breeding =
They build nests in holes made in saguaro cacti{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1avqcmYRwrcC|title=Bird tracks and sign|first1=Mark | last1 = Elbroch|first2=Eleanor Marie | last2 =Marks| first3=C. Diane | last3 =Boretos|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2001|isbn=0-8117-2696-7|page=311|quote=Cavities in saguaro cactuses in the Southwest are common. Both gilded flickers and Gila woodpeckers make these cavities for nesting, but they often choose different locations on the cactus.}} or mesquite trees. Cavities excavated by these woodpeckers in saguaro cacti (known as a "boot"{{Cite web|url=https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Gila%20Woodpecker.php|title=Gila Woodpecker Fact Sheet|website=www.desertmuseum.org|access-date=2019-02-22}}) are later used by a variety of other species, including the elf owl.{{cite web|url=http://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/specialfeatures/animals/birds/gila-woodpecker.xml|title=Gila Woodpecker|publisher=Nature Conservancy|access-date=2011-10-28|quote=Although they do not use them immediately, waiting first for the sap to harden, Gila Woodpeckers excavate cavities in cacti and trees as nesting sites.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215025321/http://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/specialfeatures/animals/birds/gila-woodpecker.xml|archive-date=2016-12-15|url-status=dead}} There, they typically lay 3–4 white eggs, although as many as 6{{Cite web|url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/gila-woodpecker|title=Gila Woodpecker|date=2014-11-13|website=Audubon|language=en|access-date=2019-02-22}} or 7{{Cite web|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gila_Woodpecker/lifehistory|title=Gila Woodpecker Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en|access-date=2019-02-22}} have been noted. 2{{En dash}}3 broods are laid a year. Both sexes incubate and feed offspring.
= Feeding =
As a woodpecker, its diet is composed greatly of insects, which it gains from drilling into bark. Gila woodpeckers are omnivorous, and do take fruits, nectar, seeds, as well as lizards, eggs, worms, and even young chicks of small birds. They are even known to hang on human placed hummingbird feeders and sip up the nectar.
Status
The IUCN rates the species as least concern.{{Cite web|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/en|title=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|website=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|access-date=2019-02-22}} It is an endangered species in California, where populations have suffered notably. Arizona populations remain strong. The effects of climate change could severely reduce available habitat.{{Cite web|url=http://climate.audubon.org/birds/gilwoo/gila-woodpecker|title=Gila Woodpecker|date=2014-08-26|website=The Audubon Birds & Climate Change Report|language=en|access-date=2019-02-22}}
Gallery
File:Gila Woodpecker outside nest.jpg|Female Gila Woodpecker, Paradise Valley, AZ
File:Melanerpesuropygialis.JPG|In Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
File:Melanerpesuropygialisdrinking.JPG|A Gila woodpecker drinking water
Melanerpes uropygialis-male feeds on Saguaro nectar.jpg|Male seeks nectar from a Saguaro flower
File:Gila Woodpecker on hummingbird feeder.jpg|Male on hummingbird feeder, North Phoenix, AZ
References
{{Reflist}}
- Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S.; Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc. (1966).
External links
{{Commons category|Melanerpes uropygialis|Gila woodpecker}}
{{Wikispecies|Melanerpes uropygialis}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20161215025321/http://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/specialfeatures/animals/birds/gila-woodpecker.xml The Nature Conservancy's Species Profile: Gila Woodpecker]
- [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science/these-woodpeckers-will-drill-your-skull-and-eat-your-brains-if-youre-baby-dove-180961656/ This Woodpecker Will Drill Into Your Skull And Eat Your Brains—If You’re a Baby Dove]
- {{InternetBirdCollection|gila-woodpecker-melanerpes-uropygialis|Gila woodpecker}}
- {{VIREO|Gila+woodpecker|Gila woodpecker}}
- {{IUCN_Map|22680853/92882402|Melanerpes uropygialis}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q557493}}
Category:Endemic birds of Southwestern North America
Category:Fauna of the Sonoran Desert
Category:Native birds of the Southwestern United States
Category:Fauna of the Lower Colorado River Valley