Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various usually brightly colored birds of the family Picidae, having strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for clinging to and climbing trees and a chisellike bill for drilling through bark and wood. Also called regionally peckerwood.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In lumbering, a poor chopper.
- n. Any bird of the large family Picidæ, of which there arc numerous genera and some 250 species, in habiting nearly all parts of the world. They are picarian and scansorial birds, having the toes arranged in pairs, two before and two behind (except, of course, in the three-toed genera: see
Picoides , and cut underTiga ); the tail-feathers rigid and acuminate, to assist in climbing; the bill hard and chisel-like, adapted for boring wood (whence the name); and a remarkable structure of the palatal and hyoidean bones and salivary glands. (See cuts undersalivary and saurognathous.) The tongue is capable, in most species, of being thrust far out of the mouth, and is lumbriciform. (See cut undersagittilingual .) The plumage as a rule is variegated in intricate patterns of coloration, and usually includes bright, rich, or striking tints. Insects constitute most of their food; their eggs are white, and are laid in holes they dig in trees; their voice is harsh and abrupt. They are of great service to man by destroying insects which infest trees. SeePicidæ , and numerous cuts there cited. - n. The Californian wood-pecker, Melanerpes formicivorus bairdi.
- n. Specifically, one of these, C. chrysoides, of Arizona, Lower California, and southward, which resembles the common flicker in the body, tail, and wings, but has the head as in the Mexican flicker.
Wiktionary
- n. One of several species of bird from the family Picidae, with a sharp beak suitable for pecking holes in wood.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of scansorial birds belonging to Picus and many allied genera of the family
Picidæ .
WordNet 3.0
- n. bird with strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for climbing and a hard chisel-like bill for boring into wood for insects
Etymologies
- wood + pecker (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Yes | No | Report from bookeraptor wrote 6 days 20 hours ago the woodpecker is a Pale-Billed Woodpecker (in the same genus as the Ivory-Billed) from Central America, so that should narrow down what species of snake this is.”
“It sure looks like it has venemous fangs, which likely means that woodpecker is dead by the time the camera stops rolling.”
“My old Audubon Field Guide, twenty-two years old now, same age as my binoculars, says that the red-bellied woodpecker is “chiefly” a Southeastern bird but it ranges farther north and “has expanded its breeding range in recent years to New York and southern New England.””
“Video evidence that an extinct woodpecker is alive and well in Arkansas, USA may prove to be a case of mistaken identity.”
“And what if a high-quality image of the ivory-billed woodpecker is captured?”
“Birders systematically memorize field marks like trailing white on the wing to distinguish the resurrected Ivory-billed woodpecker from the pileated.”
“A group of wildlife scientists believe the ivory-billed woodpecker is not extinct.”
“Hiawatha uttered his saw-saw-quan, and taking his scalp as a trophy, he called the woodpecker to come and receive a reward for his information.”
“In the thickets that flower of the air, the red-headed woodpecker, is laughing loudly.”
“Manabozho uttered his saw-saw-quan, and taking his scalp as a trophy, he called the woodpecker to come and receive a reward for his information.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘woodpecker’.
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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Words that sound dirty but aren't.
When you want to be pedantic AND childish.
titular, masticate, condiment, titmouse, penal, formication, social intercourse, assassination, cacophony, lucubrate, rectify, banal and 131 more...
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Words That Sound Naughty, but Aint
I'm quite sure there already must be a list for this somewhere. But I want.
coccyx, cumquat, bangkok, ramjet, titmouse, seersucker, woodpecker, hormone, phuket, cockade, dicker, country and 13 more...
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More Bird Wirds: North America
Birds endemic to the United States and/or North America.
toucan, peacock, weaver, bullfinch, redpoll, siskin, crossbill, finch, rosy-finch, oriole, cowbird, blackbird and 213 more...
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Words I have to learn
exasperate, felony, weld, fraud, worksheet, ransom, rehearse, preliminary, offshore, parole, infamous, sieve and 436 more...
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Hampsteader's list
Just some words i like . . .
bilkirkegaard, frost, flaxen, snow, quoin, quern, westering, deer, antler, solstice, autumn, autumnal and 114 more...
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Bird Wirds: Adjectives
Adjectives used in actual (non-taxonomic) bird names, past and present.
roseate, glossy, whooping, neotropic, pelagic, ferruginous, crested, whiskered, marbled, tufted, horned, eared and 818 more...
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Come fly away!
When it comes to naming their subjects, ornithologists soar above all others!
hummer, warbler, grebe, mallard, woodpecker, parakeet, cedar waxwing, penguin, pheasant, junco, flicker, tanager and 19 more...
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stanton's Words
msg, sushi, taro, lychee, no big deal, the denver nuggets, swamp, aid-the-poor, rural labourer, toothpick, firecracker, clothes rack and 84 more...
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librarygrrrl's Words
moist, chicken, boing, beast, lovey, woof, penguin, present, gift, wrap, tree, lights and 27 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for woodpecker.
reesetee *makes note not to get dontcry started* Jun 1, 2011
dontcry Do NOT get me started... Jun 1, 2011