Woodpeckers Woodpeckers usually have a stout, straight bill, a stiff tail used to support the bird as it climbs, and strong claws for grasping. Most communicate by drumming on trees. They eat insects and often excavate a tree cavity for their nests. True woodpeckers are found in temperate regions. Other relatives in the same family are the piculets and wrynecks.
Piculets are tiny woodpecker relatives that live in tropical rainforests.
The Gila woodpecker Melanerpes uropygialis has a zebra-striped back and a plain, grayish tan head and breast. A small, round, red cap, crowns the head of the bird. Gila woodpeckers are common in cactus woodlands in much of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. They eat insects in the summer months and mistletoe berries in the winter. Gila woodpeckers make their homes in dead tree limbs and trunks.