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  Profile

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  In flight

Woodpeckers

Acorn Woodpecker

Melanerpes formicivorus

• common
• 28 km/h
• Starter
• Least Concern

Stashes thousands of acorns in granary trees, one hole per nut. Runs the most organized pantry in the forest.

Population

1.5–3.4 million mature individuals, increasing

Habitat

Open oak and pine-oak woodlands and forests, favoring areas with mature oaks for acorn storage; found in coastal ranges, foothills, and montane forests (elevation range 0-4,400 m; rarely below 1,000 m in Central America)

Fun fact

Acorn Woodpeckers live in cooperative family groups of up to about 15 birds (including up to seven breeding males and three breeding females) that jointly drill "granary" trees riddled with thousands of holes, each stuffed with a single acorn for later eating.

Range

Western United States (Oregon, California, southwestern US) and northern Baja California south through Mexico and Central America (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama) to Colombia; vagrant in Canada

Diet

Primarily acorns (cached in "granary" trees with thousands to tens of thousands of storage holes), plus insects caught in flight, tree sap, and fruit

Size

0.21 m

Wingspan

0.39 m

Lifespan

17 years