The Lewis’s woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) is a medium-sized woodpecker found in western North America. Their diet consists primarily of insects, nuts, berries, and fruit. Lewis’s woodpeckers are adept at catching insects in flight and often fly out from an observational perch to snatch bugs out of the air. They also probe into trees, bark, and crevices looking for dormant insects. This woodpecker’s diverse diet allows it to adapt to changing food sources throughout the year.
Insects
Insects make up the majority of the Lewis’s woodpecker’s diet, especially during the spring and summer breeding season. Some of their favorite insect prey includes:
- Beetles
- Grasshoppers
- Crickets
- Ants
- Wasps
- Bees
- Caterpillars
- Moths
- Flies
- Spiders
Lewis’s woodpeckers use a variety of techniques to catch insect prey. They often fly out from an observational perch to snatch insects mid-flight with their long, sticky tongues. They also excavate into trees and bark to extract boring beetle larvae, dig into ant and wasp nests, probe into crevices, and even investigated old woodpecker nesting cavities for dormant insects.
One study examining the contents of Lewis’s woodpecker stomachs found that beetles made up over 50% of their insect diet. Some of the most commonly consumed beetles included long-horned beetles, wood-boring beetles, bark beetles, and pine beetles. Caterpillars, ants, wasps, and bees were also present.
Lewis’s woodpeckers adjust their insect feeding habits based on seasonal availability. In spring and summer when flying insects are abundant, they will sally out from perches to hawk passing insects. In winter when insects are scarcer, they excavate into crevices and under bark to find dormant larvae and eggs.
Nuts & Seeds
Nuts and seeds are a vital food source for Lewis’s woodpeckers, especially outside of insect-rich summer months. Some of their preferred nuts and seeds include:
- Acorns
- Pine nuts
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Pinyon nuts
- Sunflower seeds
Lewis’s woodpeckers use their chisel-like bills to excavate and extract nuts and seeds from trees and cones. Their stiff tail feathers provide an additional brace when climbing vertically. The woodpeckers store live nuts and seeds in crevices of bark and holes for later consumption. They are one of the few bird species known to participate in this type of food caching behavior.
Pine nuts from ponderosa, sugar, and pinon pines are a highly preferred winter food source. Lewis’s woodpeckers use their bills to excavate and pry open cones to access the nutritious pine nuts within. The birds can extract seeds from cones others birds cannot open.
Acorns are another major part of the Lewis woodpecker’s diet in oak woodlands. The woodpeckers store acorns in bark crevices for winter consumption. One study found over 11,000 acorns stored by Lewis’s woodpeckers in a single tree!
Table: Common Nuts & Seeds Consumed by Lewis’s Woodpecker
Nut or Seed | Details |
---|---|
Pine nuts | Extracted from pine cones of ponderosa, sugar, pinon and other pines |
Acorns | Common in oaks of Pacific Northwest and California |
Almonds | Live in orchards and dig into dead trees |
Pinyon nuts | Feed heavily when pinyon pine crop is good |
Sunflower seeds | Readily visit sunflower feeders for seeds |
Berries & Fruit
Lewis’s woodpeckers will supplement their diet with berries and fruit when available. Some of their favored fruits include:
- Wild cherries
- Juniper berries
- Grapes
- Elderberries
- Hackberries
- Apples
- Mulberries
- Chokecherries
- Wild currants
- Gooseberries
- Rose hips
- Dogwood berries
The woodpeckers use their sticky tongues to reach into fruit clusters and extract the ripe berries. They also occasionally visit backyard fruit trees for apples and cherries.
While less significant than nuts, seeds, and insects in their diet, fruit provides an important source of carbohydrates and nutrients for Lewis’s woodpeckers during warmer months. Juniper berries can also sustain the birds when other food sources are scarce in winter.
Table: Common Berries & Fruit Eaten by Lewis’s Woodpecker
Fruit | Details |
---|---|
Wild cherries | Favorite when cherries are ripe in summer |
Juniper berries | Sustain birds in winter when other foods are scarce |
Grapes | Found in woods near vineyards and visit backyard grapes |
Elderberries | Ripen in late summer providing carbohydrates |
Mulberries | Seek out ripening mulberry trees |
Wild currants | Currant bushes provide ripe berries in summer |
Sap
Lewis’s woodpeckers will occasionally supplement their diet by drinking sap from wells excavated by sapsuckers. The birds do not create the sap wells themselves but will opportunistically feed on the sap. Sap provides an additional source of carbohydrates when berry crops are low.
The woodpeckers have sometimes been observed following streaks of sap down trees. However, sap makes up only a very minor portion of their overall diet.
Carrion
On rare occasions, Lewis’s woodpeckers have been documented eating carrion. There are anecdotal reports of the birds scavenging scraps of meat from bones and animal carcasses. However, this is likely opportunistic and not a regularly consumed food source.
Feeding Behavior
Lewis’s woodpeckers exhibit some specialized feeding behaviors and adaptations that allow them to access their diverse diet:
- Flycatching – Catch insects in mid-air by sallying out from perches
- Bark scaling – Use chisel-like bill to excavate and peel bark to find insects
- Cone excavation – Extract seeds from cones other birds cannot open
- Bark drilling – Drill holes into bark crevices to create storage caches
- Larder hoarding – Stuff large number of nuts and seeds into storage holes
- Sticky tongue – Long tongue covered in bristles allows them to probe and extract food
- Crevice probing – Probe bill into cracks and crevices for dormant insects
Their unique feeding styles and adaptions allow Lewis’s woodpeckers to thrive on a varied insectivorous diet while also hoarding nuts and seeds when other food sources are scarce.
Habitat
Lewis’s woodpeckers inhabit open forest and woodland habitats across much of western North America. Their range extends from southwestern Canada through the western United States to Mexico. Some of their preferred habitats include:
- Ponderosa pine forests
- Oak woodlands
- Pinyon-juniper woodlands
- Riparian woodlands
- Burned coniferous forests
- Aspen groves
They are found in semi-open habitats with a mix of tall trees and open understories. This provides both suitable nesting trees and open flying room to hunt insects. The birds are often associated with forests affected by fire, as the resulting dead and dying trees attract wood-boring beetle larvae which they prey upon.
Table: Typical Lewis’s Woodpecker Habitats
Habitat | Location |
---|---|
Ponderosa pine | Pacific Northwest, Northern Rockies, Southwest |
Oak woodlands | California, Oregon |
Pinyon-juniper | Great Basin, Southwest |
Riparian woodlands | Along rivers and streams of the West |
Burned conifer forests | Recently burned areas in the West |
Seasonal Diet Changes
Lewis’s woodpeckers adjust their diet based on seasonal availability of different food sources:
- Spring – Mainly insects and sap. Also eat nuts left in winter stores.
- Summer – Abundant insects, berries, fruit, sap. Nestlings fed insects.
- Fall – Insects, fruit, seeds, and nuts. Increase nut/seed consumption.
- Winter – Rely on cached nuts and seeds. Also juniper berries.
In spring, the woodpeckers rely heavily on emerging insect populations after a long winter. Sap provides an additional food source. Some nuts and seeds cached from last fall are also still consumed.
In summer, the woodpeckers take advantage of peak availability of insects, berries, fruit, and sap to feed themselves and their nestlings.
In fall, they gradually switch over to nuts and seeds which are often abundant in the fall. They cache the nuts and seeds in bark crevices for winter.
By winter, the woodpeckers rely heavily on the nuts and seeds stored in the fall months. They supplement this with any persistent juniper berries and insects they can still excavate from under bark.
Table: Lewis’s Woodpecker Diet by Season
Season | Diet |
---|---|
Spring | Insects, sap, stored nuts & seeds |
Summer | Insects, berries, fruit, sap |
Fall | Insects, fruit, increasing nuts & seeds |
Winter | Cached nuts & seeds, juniper berries, insects |
Conclusion
In summary, the Lewis’s woodpecker is adept at taking advantage of a wide range of food sources. Insects and nuts/seeds make up the bulk of their diet. They supplement this with fruit, berries, sap, and the occasional bit of carrion. The woodpecker’s unique feeding behaviors and adaptations allow it to thrive on this diverse diet across its range in western North America.