Lewis's Woodpecker

Lewis's woodpecker in the Pend D'Oreille valley

The Lewis’s woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) is a red-listed species (endangered) in British Columbia.  Unlike other woodpeckers, they aren’t very good at making holes in hard wood; accordingly, they nest in burns or where natural cavities or holes have been made by other birds.

Map

Biodiversity Interactive Map - Lewis's Woodpecker

Range

• Breeds in western North America, and winters as far south as the US border
• In B.C., the  Lewis’s woodpecker breeds in the southern interior including the Thompson, Okanagan Boundary and East and West Kootenay
• In the Columbia Basin, the Lewis’s woodpecker is most common in the East Kootenay

Habitat

• Open upland ponderosa pine forest, open riparian woodland, burned forests
• Grasslands with wildlife trees

Reproduction

• Nests in cavities, commonly uses existing cavities, or may excavate cavity in well-decayed trees
• Incubates 6-7 eggs for 14 days; young remain in nest for 28-34 day until fledging

Listing and Date

Threats to Species

• Loss of riparian habitat, suppression of forest fires, salvage logging of burned areas
• Firewood cutting of wildlife trees

Select Reports

• Lewis's Woodpeckers in the Pend d'Oreille Wildlife Zone

For more information on this species, visit The BC Species and Ecosystem Explorer where you should enter “Lewis’s woodpecker” in the Species Name field.