Have you ever watched the Woody Woodpecker Show? You know, this little hyperactive and clever red-headed bird cartoon character is an utter nostalgia for me.
It’s been a long time since I watched cartoons and forgot about Woody. But my six year old niece seemed to have stumbled upon Woody on Youtube recently, and that’s all she watches these days.
Did you know that some movies in the franchise depicted a love interest for Woody called Winnie Woodpecker? The memory of this character was long lost, but remembering her made me wonder – do woodpeckers mate for life?
I started looking for the answer and found out that since there are a few different species of woodpeckers, they depict an array of different and strange behaviors related to mating.
Let me share what more I have found.
Do Woodpeckers Mate for Life?
Woodpeckers belong to the Picidae family, and numerous scientific studies have revealed that members of this animal family are usually monogamous in nature.
When it comes to woodpeckers, a few of them mate for life, a few of them look for different partners in different mating seasons and another species forms a group of mating partners and raise the young woodies.
Scientists have been researching their mating behavior for a long time and Sahas Barve conducted a new study in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History about breeding style of Acron woodpecker species.
Acron males are polygamous in nature, and when there are two or more males in the group, they can produce more offspring. Scientists believe that it is an evolutionary change in their mating style to increases the number of members in a family.
On the other hand, Red-bellied woodpeckers find a single partner and stay together for mating, breeding, and raising 1-2 groups of young chic each season.
It is also a common nature among woodpeckers to separate and look for other potential partners when the number of eggs is less.
Woodpecker Breeding Habits
The breeding habits of woodpeckers can include three types of behavior. They are:
1. Monogamy
The male green woodpeckers fight with another male to win over a female mating partner. How courageous! They stay in the nest and share the responsibility of incubation for 17-19 days. After that, the partners split up and take 3 to 4 young woodies with them to teach them the basics until they can search for food on their own.
2. Polygamy/ Cooperative breeding
Acron woodpeckers live in groups including 12-15 members in the family in the breeding season. And the interesting fact is when 4 to 5 members are actually the breeding parents, the other birds are known as helper parents who take care of the newborns.
3. Polyandry
This behavior is observed in the West Indian Woodpeckers. The female birds engage with two different male birds and raise two broods at the same time.
How Woodpecker’s Attract a Mate?
You must have heard that birds like peacocks dance to attract their mate. However, woodpeckers prefer to be a little noisy when they start looking for a partner.
Here are the ways they do it:
Drumming
Woodpeckers often look for hollow logs or trees that make a loud noise when they rapidly peck their bills. This behavior is known as drumming. Woodpeckers drum to let any potential mate know their existence in the territory.
In cities, you may find a woodpecker going crazy over a tin can and making a drumming sound if you are lucky.
Display flights and dances
Dancing is another behavior usually shown by Downy woodpeckers in their mating season. The bird extends their neck and wings, waves their bill, and often shows jerky movements in mid-air. It is also called butterfly flight.
Calls
Generally, woodpeckers make a constant drumming sound to call for a mate. However, a few species may call by using the ‘Kwirr’ calls.
Cloacal Kiss
Cloacal Kiss is not a form of signaling. It is actually the way woodpeckers ‘do it’. The mating happens when the male bird rubs his cloaca on the female bird and transfers the sperm.
Why Do Woodpeckers Become Aggressive in Mating Season?
The most common reason a woodpecker becomes aggressive during a mating season is to fight for a potential female mating partner with another male bird.
During this time, they become territorial and want to show dominance over other birds and so they continue drumming or wave their bill or sharp peak.
Nest Making
A small bird rapidly excavating holes in a tree – is a common sight we remember when someone mentions woodpecker. They also settle in nests premade by other birds, ant/rat holes in the ground or in bamboo forests.
They use small pieces of wood to make the platform and it takes almost a month to prepare the nest.
Do They Return to The Same Nest?
A few species, for example, sapsucker or northern flicker use the same nest in every breeding season. However, red-bellied or downy woodpeckers are known to make new nests every time they breed.
FAQ‘s
When do woodpeckers reach sexual maturity?
It takes almost a year for both male and female woodpeckers to reach sexual maturity. The babies born in April or May gradually mature and show courtship behaviors next December.
What happens if a woodpecker loses a life mate?
Woodpeckers may show temporary depression in their mourning period if anything tragic happens and their partner dies. However, after a few months, they start looking for another mate during the mating season.
Do mated woodpeckers both care for eggs?
Woodpeckers show wonderful parenthood as they divide the duties of taking care of the newborns. The father Woody, stays up during the night and the mom starts their duty in the morning so that daddy can rest.
Conclusion:
If the question, “Do woodpeckers mate for life?” ever cropped up in your head, I hope reading this helps answer all the questions you had about woodpeckers’ mating behavior.
This clever bird has managed to change its mating habits according to their need for survival, showing us that in the animal kingdom, monogamy may not always be the answer!
