Woodpeckers are easily recognized as they excavate nest and roost cavities and retrieve food from their chosen habitats and Florida has recently been home to at least least nine species – including the likely extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker, the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker, and the winter-resident only Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Each species has (or had) its own unique niche – the habitat where each lives and how they use it: the foods they depend on, and the dimensions and locations of their nest and roost cavities.
In this week’s Wild Things, we will focus on the physical characteristics and the roles they play in the lives of different species. The bill of each species is unique in size, shape, and function – giving its possessor abilities and advantages in obtaining the foods they eat and excavating the cavities they nest and roost in. The tongue of a woodpecker also varies among species and plays a major role in finding and retrieving food. Strongly curved claws enhance the ability of a woodpecker to cling to the vertical surfaces of tree trunks and limbs. Strong black tail feathers of woodpeckers provide dependable support on vertical tree trunks and limbs, but also are a source of power to propel the bird forward as it excavates. Claws of all woodpeckers are greatly curved, allowing the tip of each claw to meet the surface at right angles – giving it greater gripping power.