Lewis Woodpecker 159 Malibu Creek State Park Southern California_
"A masterful aerial forager, Lewis’s woodpecker finds food in sky-high fashion. This is not what you would expect from a typical woodpecker, which excavates wood-boring insects from trees. Instead, this species has adapted for fly-catching — perching on tree tops and watching, eagle-eyed, for the right moment to swoop in with laser precision to catch its prey. This species was first discovered on the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804–1806) and is named for the expedition's co-captain, Meriwether Lewis.
The adult Lewis’s woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker. It measures 26 to 28 centimetres long, with a wingspan of 49 to 52 centimetres. Its face is dark red and its head, back, wings and tail are iridescent greenish black. A silvery-grey collar sits just above a splash of pink on its chest. Females are a slightly lighter colour in appearance. Juveniles are darker in colour and without red feathers.
Lewis’s woodpeckers are only found in western North America, from south-central BC down to the U.S.-Mexico border. The most common place to find Lewis’s woodpeckers in Canada is in BC’s Okanagan Valley. However, they are also known to breed in mature ponderosa pine forests, from the East Kootenay to central BC. Their habitat in BC represents the northern extent of their summer (breeding) range, to which they return each May.
They are concentrated in open forests, riparian woodlands or grasslands with scattered trees, which are necessary for aerial foraging. Suitable habitats for this species also include mature to old cottonwood stands near grasslands, agricultural fields and recently burned conifer forests. Lewis’s woodpeckers nest in cavities in large-diameter trees that are living, partly decaying or dead.
In winter, birds that nest in Canada migrate to the pine-oak forests, from southern Oregon to northern Baja, California."
Lewis Woodpecker 159 Malibu Creek State Park Southern California_
"A masterful aerial forager, Lewis’s woodpecker finds food in sky-high fashion. This is not what you would expect from a typical woodpecker, which excavates wood-boring insects from trees. Instead, this species has adapted for fly-catching — perching on tree tops and watching, eagle-eyed, for the right moment to swoop in with laser precision to catch its prey. This species was first discovered on the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804–1806) and is named for the expedition's co-captain, Meriwether Lewis.
The adult Lewis’s woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker. It measures 26 to 28 centimetres long, with a wingspan of 49 to 52 centimetres. Its face is dark red and its head, back, wings and tail are iridescent greenish black. A silvery-grey collar sits just above a splash of pink on its chest. Females are a slightly lighter colour in appearance. Juveniles are darker in colour and without red feathers.
Lewis’s woodpeckers are only found in western North America, from south-central BC down to the U.S.-Mexico border. The most common place to find Lewis’s woodpeckers in Canada is in BC’s Okanagan Valley. However, they are also known to breed in mature ponderosa pine forests, from the East Kootenay to central BC. Their habitat in BC represents the northern extent of their summer (breeding) range, to which they return each May.
They are concentrated in open forests, riparian woodlands or grasslands with scattered trees, which are necessary for aerial foraging. Suitable habitats for this species also include mature to old cottonwood stands near grasslands, agricultural fields and recently burned conifer forests. Lewis’s woodpeckers nest in cavities in large-diameter trees that are living, partly decaying or dead.
In winter, birds that nest in Canada migrate to the pine-oak forests, from southern Oregon to northern Baja, California."