Short rotation logging or selective cutting of trees with insect damage or heartrot have caused population declines of some species of woodpeckers in other parts of the world. Intensive cutting of dead trees for firewood is also potentially harmful to woodpecker populations. The role of woodpeckers as forest insect predators should not be overlooked by those seeking to improve timber production. Flickers have a less chisel-like bill then other woodpeckers, thus they cannot get to wood boring insects. Instead, they often feed on the ground and pick insects off tree trunks and branches.
Ants are a favorite food.
Two species of sapsuckers occur in Alaska. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers have black and white heads and chests with red only on the forehead and under the chin. They have been seen only a few times in Alaska. Sapsuckers with red heads, necks, and chests are red-breasted sapsuckers. They occur only in Southeast Alaska and are uncommon even there.