Lewis's woodpecker

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Lewis's woodpecker
Lewis's Woodpecker.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Melanerpes
Species:
M. lewis
Binomial name
Melanerpes lewis
(G. R. Gray, 1849)
Melanerpes lewis map.svg

Lewis's woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) is a large North American species of woodpecker which ornithologist Alexander Wilson named after Meriwether Lewis, one of the explorers who surveyed the areas bought by the United States of America as part of the Louisiana Purchase and first described this species of bird.

Contents

Taxonomy

Lewis's woodpecker was described and illustrated in 1811 by the American ornithologist Alexander Wilson in his American Ornithology; or, the Natural History of the Birds of the United States. Wilson based his description on some bird skins that had been collected on an expedition across the western portion of the United States led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1803–1806. Wilson coined the English name "Lewis's woodpecker" and the binomial name Picus torquatus. [2] Unfortunately, the specific epithet was preoccupied by the ringed woodpecker, Celeus torquatus (Boddaert, 1783) and so in 1849 the English zoologist George Robert Gray coined a new name Picus lewis. [3] The type locality is Montana. [4] Lewis's woodpecker is now placed in the genus Melanerpes that was erected by the English ornithologist William Swainson in 1832. [5] [6] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [6]

Description

One of the largest species of American woodpeckers, Lewis's woodpecker can measure up to 10–11 inches (25–28 cm) in length. It is mainly reddish-breasted, blackish-green in color with a black rump. It has a gray collar and upper breast, with a pinkish belly, and a red face. The wings are much broader than those of other woodpeckers, and it flies at a much more sluggish pace with slow, but even flaps similar to those of a crow. [7] Its calls have a harsh sound relative to other woodpeckers', and it may use a repertoire of several different phrases. [8] They are one of the three largest Melanerpes woodpeckers in the world, being similar in size to the white woodpecker and the Jamaican woodpecker. [9]

Measurements: [10]

Range and Habitat

Lewis's woodpecker is locally common to the northwestern United States, dwelling mostly in open pine woodlands, and other areas with scattered trees and snags. [11] Unlike other American woodpeckers, it enjoys sitting in the open as opposed to sitting in heavy tree cover. The migration patterns of the Lewis's Woodpecker are unclear due to their nomadic lifestyle and feeding habits. [12] It ranges mostly in the western to central United States, but in the winter it can be found as far south as Southern California and the US border with Mexico. In the summer it can be found as far north as Canada. It has been seen in five Midwestern states: South Dakota, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. As wells as California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah. [13]

Feeding

Lewis's woodpecker engages in some rather un-woodpecker-like behavior in its gregarious feeding habits. Although it does forage for insects by boring into trees with its chisel-like bill, the bird also catches insects in the air during flight (typical insect hawking), a habit that only a few other woodpeckers, such as the acorn woodpecker, the red-headed woodpecker and the northern flicker, engage in. Lewis's woodpecker also feeds on berries and nuts, and will even shell and store nuts in cracks and holes in wood to store until winter. It will also feed at flat, open bird feeders where it might act aggressively toward other birds. [14]

Breeding

Lewis's woodpecker nests in a cavity excavated from a dead tree branch. The Lewis's woodpecker, however, will not excavate its own cavity, but instead nest in a pre-existing cavity in a tree. The nest are usually made around 1 to 52 meters high from the ground. [15] The female will lay between 5 and 9 eggs, which are plain white in coloration. Both mates incubate—the female during the day and the male at night. Incubation lasts approximately 12 days, after which the young will hatch. Both parents take turns equally caring for their young. After the young hatch the parents give them insects "directly from the beak". [16] The young leave the nest four to five weeks after hatching. [17] If breeding was successful, the two lifelong mates may return to the same nest the following year. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Picinae</span> Subfamily of birds

Picinae containing the true woodpeckers is one of four subfamilies that make up the woodpecker family Picidae. True woodpeckers are found over much of the world, but do not occur in Madagascar or Australasia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodpecker</span> Family of birds (Picidae)

Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known that live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts, and the Gila woodpecker specialises in exploiting cacti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pileated woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The pileated woodpecker is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Coast. It is the largest confirmed extant woodpecker species in North America, with the possible exception of the ivory-billed woodpecker, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed be reclassified as extinct. It is also the third largest extant species of woodpecker in the world, after the great slaty woodpecker and the black woodpecker. "Pileated" refers to the bird's prominent red crest, from the Latin pileatus meaning "capped".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern flicker</span> Member of the woodpecker family

The northern flicker or common flicker is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate. Over 100 common names for the northern flicker are known, including yellowhammer, clape, gaffer woodpecker, harry-wicket, heigh-ho, wake-up, walk-up, wick-up, yarrup, and gawker bird. Many of these names derive from attempts to imitate some of its calls. It is the state bird of Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-headed woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The red-headed woodpecker is a mid-sized woodpecker found in temperate North America. Its breeding habitat is open country across southern Canada and the east-central United States. It is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Endangered species, having been down-listed from near threatened in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downy woodpecker</span> Species of woodpecker

The downy woodpecker is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America. Length ranges from 14 to 18 cm. Downy woodpeckers primarily live in forested areas throughout the United States and Canada, with the exception of deserts in the southwest and the northern tundra. The bird nests in tree cavities and feeds primarily on insects, although it supplements its diet with seeds and berries. The downy woodpecker is very similar in appearance to the hairy woodpecker, although they are not closely related.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-backed woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The black-backed woodpecker, also known as the Arctic three-toed woodpecker, is a medium-sized woodpecker inhabiting the forests of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acorn woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The acorn woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker with a length of around 20 cm (8 in), and an average weight of 85 g (3.0 oz). It is found across Central America, as well as North into the western United States and South into parts of Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-bellied woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The red-bellied woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker of the family Picidae. It breeds mainly in the eastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far north as Canada. Though it has a vivid orange-red crown and nape it is not to be confused with the red-headed woodpecker, a separate species of woodpecker in the same genus with an entirely red head and neck that sports a solid black back and white belly. The red-bellied earns its name from the pale reddish tint on its lower underside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-breasted sapsucker</span> Species of bird

The red-breasted sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker of the forests of the west coast of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-naped sapsucker</span> Species of bird

The red-naped sapsucker is a medium-sized North American woodpecker. Long thought to be a subspecies of the yellow-bellied sapsucker, it is now known to be a distinct species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western wood pewee</span> Species of bird

The western wood pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher. Adults are gray-olive on the upperparts with light underparts, washed with olive on the breast. They have two wing bars and a dark bill with yellow at the base of the lower mandible. This bird is very similar in appearance to the eastern wood pewee; the two birds were formerly considered to be one species. The call of C. sordidulus is a loud buzzy peeer; the song consists of three rapid descending tsees ending with a descending peeer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive-sided flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The olive-sided flycatcher is a small to medium sized passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the Tyrant flycatcher family. It is a migratory species that travels from South to North America to breed during the summer. It is a very agile flyer and mainly consumes flying insects on flight. Since 2016, this species has been assessed as being near-threatened globally (IUCN) and threatened in Canada (SRA) due to its declining populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gila woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The Gila woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker of the desert regions of the southwestern United States and western Mexico. In the U.S., they range through southeastern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-fronted woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The golden-fronted woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in the southern United States, Mexico and parts of Central America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American three-toed woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The American three-toed woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker, which is native to North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williamson's sapsucker</span> Species of bird

Williamson's sapsucker is a medium-sized woodpecker belonging to the genus Sphyrapicus (sapsuckers).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The white woodpecker is a South American species of woodpecker native to the wooded grasslands of Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. It is a bright white bird with black wings and a distinctive small bright yellow eye patch. The IUCN has rated it as a "least-concern species".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassin's vireo</span> Species of bird

Cassin's vireo is a small North American songbird, ranging from southern British Columbia in Canada through the western coastal states of the United States, including California, Oregon, and Washington. The Cassin’s Vireo moves down Western United States forests in its migration. During its migration in early spring and late fall, it spends the winter in regions from southern Arizona to southern Mexico, including parts of Baja California and the Pacific coast of Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban green woodpecker</span> Species of bird

The Cuban green woodpecker is a species of woodpecker in the family Picidae and tribe Melanerpini, known locally in Cuban Spanish as carpintero verde. It is the only species within the genus Xiphidiopicus and is one of two woodpeckers endemic to Cuba. It is the most widespread and common woodpecker in Cuba, inhabiting primarily woodlands, as well as dry and wet forests, pine forests and mangroves. The population of the Cuban green woodpecker is stable and its status is listed as "Least Concern".

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Melanerpes lewis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22680801A92879169. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680801A92879169.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. Wilson, Alexander (1811). American Ornithology; or, the Natural History of the Birds of the United States: Illustrated with Plates Engraved and Colored from Original drawings taken from Nature. Vol. 3. Philadelphia: Bradford and Inskeep. p. 31, Plate 20 fig. 3.
  3. Gray, George Robert (1849). The genera of birds : comprising their generic characters, a notice of the habits of each genus, and an extensive list of species referred to their several genera. Vol. 3. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. Appendix p. 22. "M. torquatus Add: Picus Lewis Drap." This is a revision to p. 444. In the copy scanned for the BHL the pages are not numbered.
  4. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1948). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 6. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 157.
  5. Swainson, William (1831). Richardson, John (ed.). Fauna boreali-americana, or, The zoology of the northern parts of British America : containing descriptions of the objects of natural history collected on the late northern land expeditions under command of Captain Sir John Franklin, R.N.: Part 2, The Birds. p. 316. The title page gives the date as 1831 but the volume was not actually published until the following year.
  6. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Woodpeckers". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  7. Done, Sandi. "Melanerpes lewis (Lewis's woodpecker)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  8. "Lewis's Woodpecker Sounds, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology".
  9. Dunning, John B. Jr., ed. (2008). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses (2nd ed.). CRC Press. ISBN   978-1-4200-6444-5.
  10. "Lewis's Woodpecker Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  11. "Lewis's Woodpecker Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  12. "Movements and Migration - Lewis's Woodpecker - Melanerpes lewis - Birds of the World". birdsoftheworld.org. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  13. Done, Sandi. "Melanerpes lewis (Lewis's woodpecker)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  14. "Lewis's Woodpecker Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  15. Webmaster, David Ratz. "Lewis's Woodpecker - Montana Field Guide". fieldguide.mt.gov. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  16. "Breeding - Lewis's Woodpecker - Melanerpes lewis - Birds of the World". birdsoftheworld.org. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  17. Done, Sandi. "Melanerpes lewis (Lewis's woodpecker)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  18. "Lewis's Woodpecker | Audubon Field Guide". www.audubon.org. Retrieved 2024-10-23.