Types of Woodpeckers – What Do Woodpeckers Eat?

Woodpeckers belong to the family of Picidae. There are several types of woodpeckersexisting today. These birds are extensively found anywhere in the world except in Australia, New Zealand and Madagascar. Woodpeckers do not survive in the extreme polar regions. Nearly all species live in dense forests and woodlands; woodpecker build habitats in trees while making a hole in it with its strong beak. Other members of the Picidae family are toucans, honeyguides, puffbirds, and jacamars. There are more than 200 woodpecker species that exists today.

Types of Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers diet include insects, grubs, wood-boring insects, ants, tree sap, nuts, seeds, suet, fruit blends, orange juices, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, mealworms, nectar, berries and fruit.

Bar breasted Piculet

1. These types of woodpeckers belong to the family of Picumnus aurifrons.
2. These are mostly found in Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, and Peru.
3. They build their habitats in lowlands and subtropical rainforests.

Great Slaty Woodpecker

1. Great Slaty Woodpecker is linked to the family of Mulleripicus pulverulentus.
2. These birds have relatively larger bills.
3. These woodpeckers are largely found in flocks of 3 – 6 members.
4. These types of woodpeckers are commonly found in Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippine, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Gila Woodpecker

1. Gila woodpecker is associated with the family of Melanerpes uropygialis and is a medium sized specie.
2. These birds commonly subsist in California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Southern America.
3. They build their habitats in mesquite trees by making a hole in it.
4. These species lay 2 – 5 eggs normally.
5. They are 20 – 25 cm (8 – 10 in) long.

Black Woodpecker

1. As against the Gila woodpecker, black woodpeckers are large sized birds and belong to the family of Dryocopus martius.
2. Black woodpecker Weight is 300 – 400 g (10.6 – 14.2 oz).
3. These birds are 45 – 50 cm (18 – 20 in) long.
4. They are found in northern Palearctic.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

1. Great spotted woodpecker belongs to the family of Dendrocopos major.
2. These species are widely exists all throughout the Europe and Asia.
3. The length of these birds is 23 – 26 cm (9.1 – 10 in).
4. The wingspan is 38 – 44 cm (15 – 17 in).

Middle Spotted Woodpecker

1. Middle Spotted woodpecker is linked to the family of Dendrocopos medius, and is also known as European woodpecker.
2. The length of middle spotted woodpecker is 20 – 22 cm.
3. These species are extensively exists in Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, Great Britain, Sweden, Caucasus, Balkan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

1. Lesser spotted woodpecker belongs to the family of Dendrocopos minor with a member genus Dendrocopos.
2. They are smaller in size as compared to other species.

European Green Woodpecker

1. European green woodpecker is associated with the family of Picus viridis. These birds have 4 species.
2. They are widely distributed all over Asia and Europe.
3. They feed on ants and wood-boring insects.
4. Length of these species is 30 – 36 cm.
5. The wingspan is 45 – 51 cm.

Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker

1. Eurasian three-toed woodpecker belongs to the family of Picoides tridactylus and is medium sized specie.
2. The length is 21.5 – 25 cm.
3. These birds commonly subsist in North America, Norway, Korea, Carpathian Mountains.
4. They build their habitats in tropical forests.
5. They largely feed on insects, beetles, and termites.

White backed Woodpecker

1. The white-backed woodpecker is linked to the Dendrocopos leucotos family.
2. These birds are 38 – 40 cm long.
3. The wingspan is 24 – 26 cm.
4. These species exist in Europe, Turkey, Korea, Japan, Sweden and Nordic countries.

Acorn Woodpecker

1. These species belong to the family of Melanerpes formicivorus. Acorn woodpecker is a medium sized bird.
2. The length is 21 cm.
3. The weight is 85 grams.

White headed Woodpecker

1. The White-headed Woodpecker belongs to Picoides albolarvatus family and is also a non migratory bird.
2. These birds are found in Columbia, California and South America.

Arabian Woodpecker

1. The Arabian woodpecker is associated with the family of Dendrocopos dorae.
2. These species are generally found in Arab countries like Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Red-crowned Woodpecker

1. The Red-crowned Woodpecker belongs to the family of Melanerpes rubricapillu.the most common breeding places of these species are Columbia, Costa Rica, and Venezuela.
2. The length of these birds is 20.5 cm.
3. These types of woodpeckers weigh around 48 grams.

West Indian Woodpecker

1. These woodpeckers are associated with the family of Melanerpes superciliaris and are generally found in islands like Bahamas and Cayman Islands.
2. Most of their habitats are natural and in subtropical forests.

Arizona Woodpecker

1. Arizona woodpecker is endemic to the southern Arizona and Mexico. These species belong to the family of Picoides arizonae.
2. They live in the mountainous regions.
3. They are 7 – 8 inches long.

Downy Woodpecker

1. These species belong to the family of Picoides pubescens, and are considered to be the smallest in the North America.
2. They have a number of different vocalizations.

Hairy Woodpecker

1. Hairy woodpecker is a type of woodpecker that is linked to a family of Picoides villosus.
2. The length of these birds is 250 mm (9.75 mm).
3. The wingspan is 380 mm (15 in).
4. The weight of these species is 40 – 95 grams (1.4 – 3.4 oz).
5. These birds are endemic to Canada, Panama, Bahamas, United States, and Mexico.
6. These birds lay 4 eggs on an average.
7. They feed on fruits, insects, and buts.

Ladder backed Woodpecker

1. Ladder-backed woodpecker predominantly lives in Colorado, Mexico, Central America, and Nevada.
2. These types of woodpeckers measures about 16.5 – 19 cm (6.5 – 7.5 in) in length.
3. The females lay 2 – 7 eggs on an average.

Red cockaded Woodpecker

1. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is linked to the family of Picoides borealis.
2. These are mostly found in the North America.
3. The length of the red-cockaded woodpecker measures about 20 – 23 cm (8.5 inches).
4. The wingspan is about 36 cm (14 in).
5. These birds weigh around 1.5 ounces.

Yellow bellied Sapsucker

1. The Yellow bellied Sapsucker belongs to the Sphyrapicus varius family.
2. Yellow-bellied sapsucker subsists in the Central America, North America and Caribbean.
3. These species are 18 – 22 cm (7-1 – 8.7 in) long.
4. The wingspan measures about 34 – 40 cm (13 – 16 in).
5. The weight of yellow bellied sapsucker is 40 – 63 grams (1.4 – 2.2 oz).

Red naped Sapsucker

1. The Red naped Sapsucker is related to the family of Sphyrapicus nuchalis.
2. The length of these birds is 19 – 23 cm (7.5 – 9.1 in).
3. These types of woodpeckers weigh around 32 – 66 grams (1.1 – 2.3 oz).
4. These species tend to migrate to lofty areas.
5. These woodpeckers predominantly feed on flying insects, seeds, and berries.

Red bellied Woodpecker

1. The Red-bellied Woodpecker is associated with the family of Melanerpes carolinus and is considered to be a medium sized bird.
2. These species breed in Canada, Texas and Northern Unites States.
3. The length of these birds is 9 – 10.5 inches.
4. The wingspan is 15 – 18 inches long.

Gilded Flicker

1. The Gilded Flicker belongs to the family of Colaptes chrysoides and is mainly found in the Sonoran and Colorado Deserts, in the Southwestern of United States and Mexico.
2. These species are 23 cm (11 inches) long.
3. The wings are golden.

Pileated Woodpecker

1. The Pileated Woodpecker is linked to the family of Dryocopus pileatus and the bird commonly subsists in North America.
2. These birds tend to build their habitats near water such as the Great Lake of America.
3. The length of these woodpeckers measures about 40 – 49 cm (16 – 19 in).
4. These types of woodpeckers weigh around 250 – 350 g (8.8 – 12 oz).

Nuttall’s Woodpecker

1. The Nuttall’s Woodpecker is associated with the Picoides nuttallii family and mainly exists in the tropical forests of California. These species resemble too much with that of Ladder-backed Woodpecker.
2. Nuttall’s woodpeckers have black feathers.
3. The color of the forehead is also black.
4. The males exhibit red crown as against the female plumage.
5. The weigh of these birds is 30 – 45 grams.
6. These types of woodpeckers weigh about 16 – 18 cm.

Lewis’s Woodpecker

1. The Lewis’s Woodpecker belongs to the family of Melanerpes lewis and is usually found in North America.
2. These species are by far one of the largest woodpeckers’ species existing today.
3. The length of the Lewis’s Woodpecker measures around 10 – 11 inches.
4. It has a combination of black-green color on its feathers.
5. These birds have greater wingspan in comparison to other birds.

Types of Woodpeckers Videos