Gila Woodpecker Eating Berries
The woodpecker that I notice most often in Central Arizona is the Gila Woodpecker. You can always tell when they're around because of the frequent squeaking noises they make.
Gila Woodpecker Photos
Gila Woodpeckers are a species of the desert Southwest, not found in South Dakota. It's kind of cool though to see a species so similar to our Red-bellied Woodpecker, but in a Saguaro Cactus setting.
Gila woodpecker Melanerpes uropygialis
Identification Tips:
Length: 8.25 inches
Medium-sized woodpecker
Tan head, throat, breast, and belly
Back strongly barred with black and white
Black wings barred and spotted with white ...
Gila Woodpecker
Relatives in same Genus
Golden-fronted Woodpecker (M. aurifrons)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (M. carolinus)
Golden-cheeked Woodpecker (M. chrysogenys)
Red-headed Woodpecker (M. erythrocephalus)
Acorn Woodpecker (M. formicivorus) ...
Gila Woodpecker
Melanerpes uropygialis
The Gila Woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) is a resident of parts of western Mexico as well as most areas of southern Arizona and a few spots in California and New Mexico.
The Gila Woodpecker
The eight-and-one-quarter-inch-long Gila woodpecker - more reserved in its costume than the acorn woodpecker - has a tan head, throat, breast and belly. It has black and white bars across its back and wings.
Gila Woodpecker, Melanerpes uropygialis
Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Melanerpes aurifrons
Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus
Williamson's Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus thyroideus
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius ...
The cactus wren and California thrasher often build their nests in the buckhorn cholla. The gila woodpeckers and gilded flickers chop burros in the long arms of the Saguaro Cactus.
What are the main threats to cacti?
 See also: Woodpecker, Flicker, Turkey, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Acorn woodpecker
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