Definitions for: Woodpecker


[n] bird with strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for climbing and a hard chisel-like bill for boring into wood for insects



Webster (1913) Definition: Wood"peck`er, n. (Zo["o]l.)
Any one of numerous species of scansorial birds belonging to
Picus and many allied genera of the family Picid[ae].

Note: These birds have the tail feathers pointed and rigid at
the tip to aid in climbing, and a strong chisellike
bill with which they are able to drill holes in the
bark and wood of trees in search of insect larv[ae]
upon which most of the species feed. A few species feed
partly upon the sap of trees (see Sap sucker, under
Sap), others spend a portion of their time on the
ground in search of ants and other insects. The most
common European species are the greater spotted
woodpecker (Dendrocopus major), the lesser spotted
woodpecker (D. minor), and the green woodpecker, or
yaffle (see Yaffle). The best-known American species
are the pileated woodpecker (see under Pileated), the
ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis),
which is one of the largest known species, the
red-headed woodpecker, or red-head ({Melanerpes
erythrocephalus}), the red-bellied woodpecker ({M.
Carolinus}) (see Chab), the superciliary woodpecker
(M. superciliaris), the hairy woodpecker ({Dryobates
villosus}), the downy woodpecker (D. pubescens), the
three-toed, woodpecker (Picoides Americanus), the
golden-winged woodpecker (see Flicker), and the sap
suckers. See also Carpintero.

Woodpecker hornbill (Zo["o]l.), a black and white Asiatic
hornbill (Buceros pica) which resembles a woodpecker in
color.

Synonyms: pecker, peckerwood

See Also: Campephilus principalis, downy woodpecked, family Picidae, flicker, green woodpecker, ivorybill, ivory-billed woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, Picidae, piciform bird, piculet, Picus viridis, redhead, redheaded woodpecker, sapsucker, wryneck

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