Nuttall’s woodpecker
Picoides nuttallii
L 6¾″
Habitat: This western woodpecker is an inhabitant of oak woodlands, riparian woods, and chapparal west of the Sierras in California.
Nest: From a literature survey and personal observations, Miller and Bock (1972) summarized the following nest-tree data for 57 nests: 23 percent in oak, 19 percent in willow, 18 percent in sycamore, 16 percent in cottonwood, and 12 percent in alder. Cavities were excavated in dead limbs and trunks of trees, from 3 to 45 feet above ground.
Food: About 80 percent of the diet of Nuttall’s woodpecker is insects, including 28 percent beetles, 15 percent hemipterans, 14 percent lepidopteran larvae, and 8 percent ants (Beal 1911). Most of the insects are gleaned from trunk and limb surfaces or captured on the wing (Short 1971). Wild fruits, poison oak seeds, and occasional acorns make up the vegetable portion of the diet. Nuttall’s woodpeckers in California have been known to take almonds, occasionally robbing the caches of Lewis’ woodpeckers (Emlen 1937, Bock 1970).