Family: Picidae, Woodpeckers view all from this family
Description 10 1/2 -11 1/2" (27-29 cm). Smaller than a flicker. Metallic greenish black above; gray collar and breast; pinkish-red belly; dark red face framed with greenish black. Sexes alike. Flight is crow-like, not undulating.
Habitat Open pine-oak woodlands, oak or cottonwood groves in grasslands, ponderosa pine country.
Nesting 6-8 white eggs in a cavity in a dead stump or tree limb, often at a considerable height. Nests in loose colonies.
Range Breeds from southern British Columbia and Alberta south to central California, northern Arizona, and northern New Mexico. Winters from southern British Columbia and Oregon to Colorado and south to northern Mexico; wanders east to Great Plains.
Voice Usually silent, but occasionally gives a low churring note.
Discussion Unlike most woodpeckers, Lewis's does not peck at wood for food and is seen more often on top of a fence post than clinging to it vertically. As with the Acorn Woodpecker, its main method of getting food is catching flying insects; both species also store acorns and other nuts for winter, and sometimes damage fruit orchards. Lewis's is the common woodpecker of mountain ranchlands, and some ranchers call it the "Crow Woodpecker" because of its dark color, large size, and slow flight.
