Woodpeckers of Northern Illinois
Peggy Doty, Educator II University of Illinois Extension [email protected] Many Birds Peck at Things How many peck vertically? World Wide with the exceptions of New Guinea, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar • Family – Picidae • 3 sub-families • Jynginae or wrynecks – found in Europe, Asia and Africa • Picumninae or piculets – found in Southeast Asia, Africa and South American Tropics • Picinae or picids – known as true woodpeckers and are the most common, includes flickers and sapsuckers
• There are no wrynecks or piculets in the United States and Canada so we only have the picids or true woodpeckers. Wrynecks Piculets
Bar-breasted piculet Picids True Woodpeckers –nearly 200 species Ancient Picids
• Amber encased woodpecker feather dates back 24 million years.
• A fossilized woodpecker leg bone found in Germany is 25 million years.
• Nest cavities in petrified trees in Arizona are thought to be 50 million years old Generally Larger Live Longer
Hummingbirds average 2 to 5 years while California condors average 75 to 80.
Smallest to Largest in Illinois
A downy woodpecker lives, on average, 5 to 8 years.
The pileated woodpecker ranges between 10 to 20 years. Both males
• Smallest is the downy
6 inches long
wildldelight.com
• Largest is the pileated
17 inches long Illinois species Downy Hairy Red-headed Red-bellied Yellow-bellied sapsucker Northern flicker (Yellow shafted) Pileated Downy (sexually dichromatic) Hairy
Hairy compared to Downy Red-headed (sexually monochromatic) Red-bellied Yellow-bellied sapsucker Northern Flicker Pileated A Niche
• All considered primary cavity nesters.
• They are the one who make the cavity and live in it first.
• Keystone and woodland indicator species
• Pest service to the trees Local Carpenters for Others Why Excavate Trees?
• Food – larva and adult beetles
• Raise Young- nesting cavity
• Winter protection - cover Food In the Tree
The food in the tree is almost exclusively accessible by woodpeckers. White breasted nuthatch and brown creepers are their only competition.
An unknown amount of insects have been kept from doing damage to forests thanks to woodpeckers Baby Face
60 percent reach 1 year – 10 percent higher than other birds. Downy male Traits
• Head design • Bill shape • Tongue-modified tip • Nostrils – feathered dust mask • Short legs • Strong toes • Tail – lever • Large 2nd neck ribs – for extra muscle attachment • All Unique to Picidae family Head Design
The average woodpecker strike speed is 20 to 24 feet per second.
A human can survive a car crash at a maximum G-force of about 100 G’s of deceleration at impact.
Pileated woodpeckers force of the deceleration at impact has been measured at 600 to 1,500 G’s.
Average strikes is about 100 to 200 times a minute.
Some believe their brain is so small and light it lacks the mass to develop enough inertia to cause major damage. Frontal Bone of Skull Detailed Amazing Tongue Pygostyle or Tail Bone
• The last six vertebrae in a bird’s spinal column are fused together in a plow-shaped bone. • Woodpeckers have large pygostyles. Flap-bounding Flight Pattern Call but No Song
• Calls are used year round but are louder and more constant in spring when defending of territories is at their peak.
• Drumming is in the spring and though it may cause minor damage it is not an attempt to build a nest but to make continuous noise for courting and territory marking.
• Gutters, chimneys, and stove pipes are often chosen for drumming. Feeding Woodpeckers
Consider how they eat in the wild.
• Peanuts
• Suet
• Sunflower seeds Dealing with Woodpeckers
• Spring – Drumming
• Spring/Summer – Nesting
• Fall – Winter home What to do?
• Living with Illinois Wildlife website • http://web.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/
Netting Pie pans Mylar strips No plastic owls Thank You!