Woodpeckers and Insect Larvae

Nov 22, 2013

Adult male Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens.
Credit Peter De Wit



"I observed the downy woodpecker foraging for more than ten minutes. It moved from gall to gall quickly - apparently not all of them contained living larvae to munch. How did the bird know? Some researchers claim woodpeckers can hear bugs and larvae inside plants; some believe they can feel the small vibrations made by crawling insects. Once the bird located a gall with a tasty morsel inside, it spent up to two minutes completely peeling the round gall to extract its meal."