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Animal profile

Acorn Woodpecker

Melanerpes formicivorus

AvesOak and pine-oak woodland from the western United States to ColombiaLeast Concern

Field profile

The acorn woodpecker is a boldly patterned, clown-faced woodpecker of oak woodland. It lives in cooperative family groups that defend a shared store of acorns drilled into a single tree. Group members share breeding duties in unusually complex arrangements.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-04-16

Acorn Woodpecker

Acorn woodpeckers drill communal granary trees

A family group of acorn woodpeckers stores acorns in individually drilled holes in one shared trunk. A single well-used granary can hold tens of thousands of acorns, and the group defends and maintains it across generations.

Read with evidence →

Acorn Woodpecker | Daily Animal Facts