The Gila Woodpecker
announces its presence with a noisy, trilling and downright irritating squeak.
Both the female and male have a brown face, with black and white zebra striped feathers, and white wing patches which are visible in flight. The difference is that the male has a red cap of feathers on the top of his head.
The woodpecker nests in the saguaro cactus in a cavity (called a boot) that is excavated by the parent's long beak. The inside of the cactus provides a safe, cool place for the woodpecker to raise its young.
Both the male and female incubate the eggs, which hatch within about two weeks. Both, also, feed the young...
The young fledge and leave the nest within about a month but show up at mom and dad's dinner table for several more weeks.
Dinner or diet is mainly insects--yum-yum!
But the woodpecker will eat the cactus fruits, mistletoe berries and other seasonal fruits.
The irritating and squawky woodpecker has adapted somewhat to the human presence by learning to hang onto backyard hummingbird feeders to lick up the sugary water!
(Copyright 2015)
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