Exploring Nature: Woodpeckers

My suet feeder on the back deck recently attracted two golden-fronted woodpeckers, a male and a female. They took turns hanging on the suet block and attacking it with their long sturdy bills.

There are more than 200 different woodpeckers in the world and 14 of them can be found in Texas. At one time, there were 15, but the ivory-billed species is now considered extinct.

The golden-fronted is by far the most common woodpecker in our area, although we also have the red-headed and acorn varieties.

The golden-fronted species

ranges from southwestern Oklahoma down to Nicaragua, with most of the U.S. population residing in Texas. It is a year-round resident in our area.

Ten inches long, with a black-and-white barred back, this woodpecker has light underparts, a white rump and an all-black tail. A large golden-orange patch is found on its nape and smaller yellow patch just above the bill. It is this smaller patch that gives the bird its “golden front” name. In addition, the male has a small, round red cap, which is not found in the female.

This bird’s strong chis-

el beak enables it to dig for insects in the trunks of trees and to hollow out nest holes in solid wood.

The bones in its skull are thick and can withstand vigor- ous pounding, and its unique, long tongue has elastic muscles that make it possible to thrust it out several inches past the tip of its beak.

Sometimes called “jackhammers of the forest,” wood- peckers typically make nest cavities in trees and poles or in large cacti and old agave bloom stalks in arid regions. Both parents incubate and feed the young.