Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Woodpeckers can be heard in the woods in almost any state. The golden-fronted species that lives off the caprock in Texas has the main characteristics of all woodpeckers – a red head and a black and white back.
The male and female have bright gold on the front and back of their heads. As with most bird species, the male has a little extra color. He has a bright red dot on the top of his head.
Woodpeckers have a great strategy for catching bugs. First, they listen for a bug in a dead tree trunk. Then they drill a hole where they have pin-pointed the bug’s location. Then they grab it with their beak and gobble it down.
Every time a woodpecker drills a hole doesn’t mean that is where it’s going to live, most of the time it’s just where a bug is hiding. The great thing is though, those bug holes are then taken over and expanded by other birds and turned into nests for numerous species. Plants and animals work together in wonderful ways to keep the intricate design of nature running smoothly.
