woodpecker

American  

[wood-pek-er] / ˈwʊdˌpɛk ər /

noun

1. any of numerous climbing birds of the family Picidae, having a hard, chisel-like bill that it hammers repeatedly into wood in search of insects, stiff tail feathers to assist in climbing, and usually more or less boldly patterned plumage.

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woodpecker British  

/ ˈwʊdˌpɛkə /

noun

1. any climbing bird of the family Picidae, typically having a brightly coloured plumage and strong chisel-like bill with which they bore into trees for insects: order Piciformes

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Etymology

Origin of woodpecker

First recorded in 1520–30; wood ¹ + pecker

Example Sentences

The residents watched the same deer, coyotes and woodpeckers and played tennis and swam with the same dramatic backdrop of the Santa Monica Mountains.

From The Wall Street Journal

As a small-scale songbird rehabilitator I am not equipped, for instance, to take on a pileated woodpecker, which can smash its way out of any enclosure not made of steel.

From The Wall Street Journal

Dozens of animals rely on them to survive, from ladder-backed woodpeckers who nest in their trunks to desert night lizards who sleep and forage beneath their fallen boughs.

From Los Angeles Times

"This winter I got a woodpecker and a nuthatch" he said, adding the images were "extraordinary".

From BBC

An estimated 25 bird species, including ladder-backed woodpeckers, loggerhead shrikes and western screech owls, nest in their trunks and branches.

From Los Angeles Times