Gila woodpecker facts

The Gila woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis) is a medium-sized woodpecker of the desert regions of the southwestern United States and western Mexico. In the US, they range through southeastern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.
The back and wings of this bird are spotted and barred with a black and white zebra-like pattern. The neck, throat, belly and head are greyish-tan in color. The male has a small red cap on the top of the head. Females and juveniles are similar, but both lack the red cap of the adult male. White wing patches are prominent in flight. The dark tail has white bars on the central tail feathers.
This woodpecker's habitat consists of low desert scrub typical of the Sonoran Desert, as well as arroyos and small towns.
They build nests in holes made in saguaro cacti or mesquite trees. Cavities excavated by these woodpeckers in saguaro cacti are later used by a variety of other species, including the elf owl. There, they typically lay 3 to 4 white eggs. 2 to 3 broods are laid a year. Both sexes incubate and feed eggs.
As a woodpecker, its diet is composed greatly of insects, which it gains from drilling into bark. Gila woodpeckers are omnivorous, and do take fruits, nectar, seeds, as well as lizards, eggs, worms, and even young chicks of small birds. They are even known to hang on human placed hummingbird feeders and sip up the nectar.

[budduggly]

We have 3 of these creatures visit every day. We have hummingbird feeders up and these birds enjoy them daily. They don't seem to be aggressive with any of the hummers....they actually have shared from time to time. Fun to watch!