Acorn Woodpeckers were formerly called Ant-eating Woodpeckers owing to the erroneous belief that most of the diet consisted of ants. Its specific epithet, "formicivorus," means "ant eating." This species of woodpecker, however, eats fewer ants than other woodpeckers.
Acorn Woodpeckers are widely known for storing acorns, its principal food item, in the bark of trees, telephone poles, or fence posts. They carefully manage these granaries, and as an acorn dries out and shrinks, they fit the smaller acorn into a new hole of the appropriate size. The production of mature acorns only occurs during late summer and fall. Therefore, these larders are an important source of food throughout the year.
In addition to feeding on acorns, this species also flies out from a perch and catch insects on the wing, a behavior known as flycatching.
Acorn Woodpeckers have a complex social system and are a noisy and gregarious bunch. The most common call is a laughing "wheka wheka wheka" or "RACK-up RACK-up RACK-up". - Sibley.
They are found throughout the West from northern Canada south through Washington, Oregon, and California. Also, an interior population occupies Arizona and New Mexico south into Mexico. In flight, the white wing and rump patches provide a striking pattern.
If you desire to see this species, a visit to Little Walnut Campground often reveals several Acorn Woodpeckers.
