Every day when I pass a certain tree in Vitruvian Park, I hear “rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat.” I know it is a woodpecker, but I have never seen it. The sound is unmistakable. When I lived in East Texas, I had a woodpecker pecking on my roof, waking me up in the morning.
According to Luke Ward’s article “Why Do Woodpeckers Peck Wood?” on The Fact Site, there are six reasons why woodpeckers peck wood:
1. To find food. Like any other creature on this planet, woodpeckers have their own unique way of finding food. For instance, bald eagles come to the water surface and dip their feet into the water to catch fish. However, woodpeckers have a different strategy. When they see larvae, ants or any other insects within a wood, they start to peck in order to get to them. Interestingly, once they create an opening on the bark of a tree, they utilize their amazingly long tongue to catch those insects.
2. To communicate. Unlike many other birds, woodpeckers are not vocal birds. That means you won’t meet woodpeckers that sing. Instead of tweeting, they drum the trees to make a tapping sound. That sound helps them to scare off possible predators and rivals. In addition, it helps them to attract mates.
3. To build nests. Most birds collect the twigs and grass to structure future homes, but not woodpeckers. They rely on their carving ability. By pecking on wood, they make holes in trees to structure future nests. If woodpeckers make multiple small holes in a wooden structure, that means they are more likely foraging for food in that area. But, if they make larger holes, that is an indication of their nesting efforts.
4. Because they can. There are not many birds that are able to peck as woodpeckers do. Contrary to most birds, woodpeckers have strong necks and beaks, which enable them to peck wood continuously without harming themselves. They are capable of pecking 10,000 times a day. Their strong necks have natural shock absorbers which help them balance the vibration to avoid concussions.
5. To mark their territory. Every animal and even humans like to mark their territory. Humans usually make a barrier around our property with fencing. Dogs urinate to show other dogs who is the boss in that area. Woodpeckers have their own way of showing authority in a territory. They drum against wood loudly to let other birds know they are present in that territory.
6. To harm trees and damage residential and industrial structures (not really). Although woodpeckers do not peck wood to cause damage to nature or structures, they utilize that unfavorable trait as a survival tactic. They don’t ruin wood intentionally; they do it to guarantee their well-being. For instance, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., woodpeckers caused thousands of dollars’ worth of damages to Prince George Hotel by trying to claim part of the building for nesting purposes. They pecked on the newly finished Courtyard Marriott Hotel and gave a heavy bill of repair costs to the construction company. That is just one example. These good-looking birds can cause ugly damages on wooden structures in many other places including utility poles, house roofs and fruit trees.
There are eight varieties of woodpeckers in North Texas, according to DFW Urban Wildlife:
1. Downy Woodpecker
Adult downy woodpeckers are the smallest of North America’s woodpeckers. The downy woodpecker is virtually identical in plumage pattern to the larger hairy woodpecker, but it can be distinguished by the presence of black spots on its white tail feathers and the length of its bill. Despite their close resemblance, downy and hairy woodpeckers are not very closely related; the species exploit rather different-sized foodstuffs and do not compete very much ecologically. Downy woodpeckers mainly eat insects, also seeds and berries. Especially in winter, often they can be found in suburban backyards with trees and will feed on suet at birdfeeders.
2. Hairy Woodpecker
Adults are mainly black on the upper parts and wings, with a whit or pale black and whit spotting on the wings; the throat and belly vary from white to sooty brown, depending on the subspecies. There is a white bar above and one below the eye. They have a black tail with white outer feathers. Mating pairs will excavate a hold in a tree, where they will end to — on average — four white eggs. They are known to peck at wooden window frames and wood-sided homes that may house bugs.
3. Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Ladder-backed woodpeckers are fairly common in dry brushy areas and thickets and has a rather large range. They are small and are primarily colored black and white, with a barred pattern on their backs and wings resembling the rungs of a ladder. Their rumps are speckled with black, as are their cream- colored underparts on the breasts and flanks. Southern populations have duskier buff breasts and distinctly smaller bills. They are very similar in appearance to Nuttall’s woodpeckers, but have much less black on their heads and upper backs. Ladder-backed woodpeckers nest in cavities excavated from tree trunks or in more arid environments, a large cactus will do. They feed on insects and their larva, along with fruit produced by cacti. The female lays between two and seven eggs, which are plain white. The eggs are incubated by both sexes.
4. Pileated Woodpecker
The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in the United States, second to the critically endangered ivory-billed woodpecker. The call is a loud, far-carrying laugh, sometimes descried as a “jungle bird” call due to its wild, unfettered quality. Its drumming can be very loud, often sounding like someone striking a tree with a hammer. This bird favors mature forests and heavily wooded parks. They also inhabit smaller woodlots as long as they have a scattering of trees. The pileated woodpecker often will chip out large and roughly rectangular holes in trees while searching out insects, especially ant galleries. It is self-assured on vertical surfaces of large trees but can seem awkward while feeding on small branches and vines. This bird can make such large holes in dead trees that the holes can cause a small tree to break in half. Its roost usually has multiple entrance holes. The pileated woodpecker has been observed to move to another site if any eggs have fallen out of the nest — a rare habit in birds.
5. Red-bellied Woodpecker
The red-bellied woodpecker’s name is somewhat misleading, as the most prominent red part of its plumage is on the head. These woodpeckers are noisy birds. Calls have been described as sounding like churr-churr-churr or thraa- thraa-thraa with an alternating br-r-r-r-t sound. Red-bellied woodpeckers tap on aluminum roofs, metal guttering, hollow trees and even transformer boxes in urban environments to communicate with potential partners. Babies have a high-pitched begging call of pree-pree- pree. These birds can catch insects in flight. Areas around nest sites are marked with drilling holes to warn others away. In early May, red-bellied woodpeckers begin breeding activities by drumming patterns such as slow taps followed by short, rapid drumming. The male takes the initiative in locating a nest hole. He will them seek approval from his mat by mutual tapping. Vocal signals in red-bellied woodpeckers are used to attract and communicate with potential mates. A low “grr, grr” sound is observed in a pair of woodpeckers from the start of courtship until the end of the breeding season. These birds are known to be in monogamous relationships.
6. Red-headed Woodpecker
Adults are strikingly tri-colored, with a black back and tail and a red head and neck. Their underparts are mainly white. Adult males and females are identical in plumage. Non-birders often may mistakenly identify red-bellied woodpeckers as red-headeds, whose range overlaps somewhat with that of the red-headed woodpecker. While red-bellied woodpeckers have some bright red on the heads and necks, as well as a dramatically different overall plumage pattern. Red-headed woodpeckers give a tchur-tchur call. These birds fly to catch insects in the air or on the ground, forage on trees or gather and store nuts. They are omnivorous, eating insects, seeds, fruits, berries, nuts and occasionally even the eggs of other birds. About two-thirds of their diet is made up of plants. They nest in a cavity in a dead tree, utility pole or a dead part of a tree. In early May, they lay four to seven eggs which are incubated for two weeks. Two broods can be raised in a single nesting season.
7. Northern Flicker
The northern flicker is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. There are over 100 common names for the northern flicker — yellowhammer (as it’s known as the state bird of Alabama, not to be confused with the Eurasian yellowhammer), clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup and gawker bird. Many of these names are attempts at imitating some of its calls. A necklace-like black patch occupies the upper breast, while the lower breast and belly are beige with black spots. Males can be identified by a black or red mustache stripe at the base of the beak. The tail is dark on top, transitioning to a white rump which is conspicuous in flight. The yellow-shafted flicker is yellow under the tail and underwings and has yellow shafts on its primaries. It has a grey cap, a beige face and a red bar at the nape of its neck. Males have a black mustache. The red-shafted flicker is red under the tail and underwings and has red shafts on its primaries. It has a beige cap and a grey face. Males have a red mustache.
8. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-bellied sapsuckers drill holes in trees and eat the sap and insects drawn to it. Because they feed on up to 250 species of living trees and woody plants, they are sometimes considered to be pests. The birds can cause serious damage to trees, and intensive feeding has been documented as a source of tree mortality. Sapsucker f feeding can kill a tree by girdling, which occurs when a ring of bark around the trunk is severely injured. In orchards, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends allowing yellow-bellied sapsuckers to feed upon their preferred tree(s), suggesting the birds will focus their attention on these and spare the rest of the orchard from serious damage. Non-lethal deterrents can also be applied to trees to ward off the birds, including burlap wraps and bird tanglefoot, a type of sticky repellent. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers drum and give catlike call in spring to declare ownership of territory. They will mate with the same partner from year to year, as long as both birds survive. They sometimes hybridize with red-naped sapsuckers or red-breasted sapsuckers where their breeding ranges overlap.
And, of course, there is a very famous woodpecker: