![]() Woodpeckers can hear when an insect is hiding beneath bark or in a hollow part of the tree. They are using the sound to help locate grubs and insects inside the wood-just as you might tap a hammer along a wall to find the hidden stud. When woodpeckers drum, they're doing more than just making noise. They use stiff tail feathers to brace themselves as they scoot up and down trees. Their specialized zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward and two back, help them get a firm grip on vertical surfaces. Woodpeckers are uniquely adapted for a life of climbing and pecking-or drumming, as it is called-on trees. Males often show more red on the head than females, but for some species, like the red-headed woodpecker, it is impossible to distinguish between the sexes. Woodpeckers on the wing, such as the pileated, red-headed and northern flicker, reveal patches on the wings, tail or rump that can help you identify them. Because it takes some experience to recognize their individual calls, learning to identify plumage colors and patterns relative to body size is the best way to tell one species from another. Contrasting brown, black and white colors mixed with barring and spotting patterns are typical. The bright colors and patterns of woodpeckers' feathers are distinctive. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers don't breed in Missouri, but they stay here during the winter months. Northern flickers may migrate southward in the winter, and red-headed woodpeckers will if there aren't enough acorns to eat. The hairy, downy, pileated and red-bellied woodpeckers reside here throughout the year. Depending on the time of year, Missouri is home to seven species of woodpeckers. Remarkably, there are about 215 species of woodpeckers worldwide. ![]() Almost every place on earth where there are trees-except Australia-there are woodpeckers.
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