Lewis's Woodpecker: Melanerpes lewis

Bret W. Tobalske; Kerri T. Vierling; Vicki A. Saab

doi:10.2173/bna.284

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Lewis's Woodpecker: Melanerpes lewis

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Bret W. Tobalske, Kerri T. Vierling, Vicki A. Saab

Year:

2013

Type:

Miscellaneous Publication

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.284

Source:

In: Poole, A., ed. The Birds of North America Online. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi: 10.2173/bna.284.

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Abstract

During the historic Lewis and Clark expedition, Meriwether Lewis wrote on 20 July 1805, "I saw a black woodpecker (or crow) today it is a distinct species of woodpecker; it has a long tail and flys a good deal like the jay bird" (sic, Thwaites 1905). Subsequent observations of flight and vocalization reminded him of the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) he knew from his home in Virginia. A few years later the ornithologist Alexander Wilson, working with skins that Lewis and Clark's expedition had provided, described this species in his American Ornithology and named it Lewis's Woodpecker in honor of his fellow naturalist (Snow 1941, Farrand 1992, Mearns and Mearns 1992).

Keywords

Lewis's Woodpecker Melanerpes lewis, breeding birds, distribution, migration, habitat, food habits, sounds, behavior, breeding

Citation

Tobalske, Bret W.; Vierling, Kerri T.; Saab, Victoria A. 2013. Lewis's Woodpecker: Melanerpes lewis. In: Poole, A., ed. The Birds of North America Online. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi: 10.2173/bna.284.