#67 Keeping an Eye On... Acorn Woodpecker

Farmers aren't the only ones with granaries - Acorn Woodpeckers have them too!  This eye-catching species is adept at finding and storing thousands of acorns in custom-built granaries, ready for future consumption.

While other woodpeckers store seeds in crevices, cracks or cavities, Acorn Woodpeckers drill holes in a snag, tree trunk, telephone pole or the side of a wooden house, and jam the acorn into the hole!

Acorn Woodpeckers, found in oak woodlands in the southwest, California and Oregon, live in communal clans of over a dozen individuals. Their diet consist of insects, ants, fruit and copious amounts of acorns retrieved from the clan's storehouse!

photo © adrian binns