Mindo, Ecuador

Woodpeckers have sharp and strong beaks for effective drilling into the trunk. The long sticky tongue helps them grasp insects. To prevent brain damage due to repeated drilling and pecking, Woodpeckers have certain features. Woodpeckers have a flexible and small brain.

Woodpeckers occur nearly worldwide, except in the region of Australia and New Guinea, but are most abundant in South America and Southeast Asia.

Using their beaks, these fascinating birds drill into trees to find food or to create a nest. Woodpeckers can peck a tree up to 20 times per second. They typically peck up to 12 000 pecks per day!

The average life span of a wild woodpecker can last from 4-11 years, depending on the species.

They lay 3 to 10 eggs in each clutch. Both parents incubate the eggs for 12 to 14 days. The chicks are altricial (helpless) when they hatch; they are naked and their eyes are closed for the first 12 to 13 days. Both parents feed and brood the chicks.

One of the most incredible woodpecker facts is that these birds don’t peck at wood just for fun. They actually bore holes in tree bark to get at the juicy insects underneath. Woodpeckers eat beetles, ants, termites, spiders, caterpillars, fruit, nuts, and sap. But, their diet isn’t restricted only to bugs, fruit, and nuts; they also eat lizards, mice and other small rodents, bird eggs, and baby birds. Woodpeckers are opportunistic, and don’t often turn down a meal.

The Best Nest Boxes Birds Will Actually Use for 2022
With almost 200 distinct species of woodpecker, it’s no surprise that there’s a lot of variation between species. The smallest woodpeckers in the world stand only three inches tall, while the largest can reach nearly two feet in length. The largest woodpecker alive today is the great slaty woodpecker. In the past, even larger woodpeckers, like the imperial woodpecker and the ivory-billed woodpecker, existed. But, due to  habitat loss they went exint

Golden olive woodpecker nest at Choco Toucan reserve and Lodge in Ecuador

SUPERB black-cheeked woodpecker's nest footage by Hans Heinz