Thomas Nuttall was an English naturalist who spent many years in the U.S. collecting specimens; this woodpecker was named after him by William Gambel (after which a quail is named.)
The Nuttall’s Woodpecker is small , a little more than seven inches long. Like most woodpeckers, it is mostly black and white; it has a series of bars across its back and wings, and a black tail. The male has a red patch on his head. The nine inch Acorn Woodpecker is larger with a black back, the six and a half inch Downy Woodpecker has a white stripe on its back and the eight and a half inch Red-breasted Sapsucker has a white stripe on the wing.
The Nuttall’s Woodpecker is restricted to California and northern Mexico west of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges. They can be found wherever oak trees are found, but they do not eat acorns, preferring fruits, berries, and insects, especially adult and larval beetles. They work their way carefully across trunks and branches searching crevices and under the bark, often hanging upside down as they forage, flaking and probing the bark rather than drilling.
All woodpeckers “drill” or peck at the bark of trees for three reasons: to make noise, called “drumming”, in order to declare their territory; to drill a hole for a nest; or to look for insects or sap to eat. They are able to hold onto the tree firmly while pecking because they have two toes forward and two toes back (most birds have three forward and one back), and their tail feathers are stiffened with a heavy quill. Woodpeckers also have bristle-like feathers covering their nostrils so that they do not breathe in wood chips while pecking. With a very flexible neck
Woodpeckers hammer their beaks into trees 18 to 22 times per second, at speeds of 13 to 15 miles per hour (21 to 25 kilometers per hour) about 12,000 times per day subjecting their brains to deceleration forces of 1200 g with each strike. How do they do that without beating their brains to a pulp? Woodpeckers have three mechanisms in their head to prevent jarring and injury. First, their skull consists of bones and spaces arranged in a spongelike pattern to absorb shocks. Second, their lower bill is elastic and bends slightly downward to deflect some of the energy. And third, the hyoid bone, actually several bones, wraps around the skull from the nostrils over the head and into the tongue. Not only does this give the bird the ability to stick their tongue out amazingly far, but the muscle-covered hyoid bone serves as sort of a seatbelt for the head, absorbing even more stress.
These adaptations are being studied for application to better human head protection, like better bike, motorcycle, football, and tank-driver helmets. Already a prototype bike helmet with a spongelike cardboard interior has been produced.
We learned how to fly from watching birds but there is so much else to learn.
There is a male Nutalls woodpecker at the South Portal Road Tunnel Trailhead, zip code 93105, in our oak woodland. I see it every year around this time. I believe it must be half of a pair nesting somewhere nearby. We also have a great number of acorn woodpeckers here year-round, but I only see a solitary Nuttall ‘s once in a while. A welcome visitor! Tuesday, October 10, 2017
I’m so glad I found this site. There has been what I now discover is a Nettall’s woodpecker. drinking out of our humming bird feeder most of the morning. We live in the Los Angeles area and have never seen this bird before. Is this a usual thing for this bird to do?
It’s not uncommon for woodpeckers to frequent hummingbird feeders.
How do baby Nuttall Woodpecker’s learn to fly? There is no limb or branch outside the nest hole in the tree for it to climb out on – just a straight drop. I’m guessing they come out and hang on to the side of the tree with their special toes and then maybe work their way to a branch.
They can fly immediately after leaving the nest, although not well. They have to practice and strengthen their muscles.
HOW MANY BIRDS DID NUTTALL KILL? WAS THIS MAN LIKE AUDUBON, WHOM I DETEST, FOR KILLING SO MANY BIRDS IN ORDER TO PAINT THEM? WHY DOES HE DESERVE A WOODPECKER NAMED AFTER HIM? SOUNDS AS IF HE KILLED BIRDS, RATHER THAN OBSERVE AND HIGHLIGHT THEM TO OTHERS. WHY DOES SOME ENGLISH DUDE COME TO THE USA AND DO WHATEVER HE WANTED TO OUR BIRDS? SOUNDS LIKE NUTTALL WAS NOT SOMEONE TO BE ADMIRED. SOUNDS LIKE A NUT, AS IS HIS NAME.
I get your point and I’m appalled at all the killing of birds that went on in the past, such as the 19th and 18th centuries (and a lot still does, but not for scientific reasons.) There was no photography in the days of Audubon and Nuttall and it was accepted practice to kill birds in order to study and paint them. Of course, it was awful, but the human population was far less in those days and habitat was abundant so these guys and others like them had little impact on birds’ populations, unlike today.All kinds of scientists in those days shot animals and did other dastardly things to wildlife. Today we are appalled. But remember in the days of Nuttall and Audubon, we also enslaved other humans. Things change and we have to understand things in context of the time.
Just had one that looked exactly like this pecking on the tree right out front of my window in Kannapolis, North Carolina. 03 January 2021
Maybe a Red-cockaded Woodpecker, but not a Nuttall’s which is only found in California.
After raising 3 babies, for the last few days we no longer see the Nuttal’s woodpeckers in their nest, not even at night. We should seal up the nest hole to prevent other pests from invading the tree. Do the woodpeckers come back after some time or are we safe to seal up the hole now?
I see no need to seal up the tree hole. The woodpeckers could very well decide to raise another brood. Or maybe bluebirds or titmice.
Thanks Dr Roger! I see some Japanese beetles flying around that tree, so I’m quite concerned. I read that Nuttal woodpeckers make fresh nests every season… alternately I can put duct tape on the opening now and remove it in March next year and hope they come back.
I’m in northern Maine, and I’ve been seeing a bird very much like the Nuttal. I know it’s not a Downy; we have lots of them, and this one is different. It has more black on its back, and a very ruffed red topknot. It’s behavior is almost comical as it seems to buzz us when we’re outdoors, flying in a repeated straight, low pattern, within feet of us. Does anyone know what it might be? I’m unable to capture a good photo. Thank you.
If it’s not a Downy, look at this website to identify https://birdfeederhub.com/woodpeckers-in-maine/