Illustration from National Geographic's Field Guide to the Birds of North America
Lewis's Woodpecker
Melanerpes lewis
July 20, 1805, north of Helena in Lewis and Clark County, Montana.
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 crowlike, not undulating. Length 10.5-11.5 in (27-29 cm).
Usually silent, but occasionally gives a low churring note.
Open pine-oak woodlands, oak or cottonwood groves in grasslands, ponderosa pine country.
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.
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.
