We saw50 new species of birds during our two week trip to Arizona and California. Amazingly, we saw the first eight new species within three hours of arriving in Tucson! .One truly enchanting bird species we discovered was the Gila (Pronounced 'heela') Woodpecker shown above.
According to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum factsheet, Gila Woodpeckers are permanent Sonoran Desert dwellers and are found in all of its habitats. This woodpecker can be found in southeast California, southwest Nevada, southern Arizona, southwest New Mexico and south into central Mexico.
Woodpeckers nest in cavities that they excavate with their long beak. In the Sonoran Desert they often make these cavities in saguaro cactus. The inside of a cactus provides a safe, cool place for the woodpeckers to raise their young. The excavated cavity is called a "boot".
Both male and female Gila woodpeckers have a brown face, black and white zebra striped back, and white wing patches that are visible during flight. Adult males have a red cap of feathers on the top of their head. They look a bit like Flickers, actually.
Labels:
Gila Woodpecker