Discover which woodpeckers mate for life, and which pair up and then split up. Also learn how long pileated woodpeckers live.
Do Pileated Woodpeckers Stay With Their Mates?
“A pair of pileated woodpeckers visited my suet feeder for the past three or four years, but suddenly the female was alone. I suspect she lost her mate. Will she find another one? How long do these woodpeckers live?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Lois Shuck of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania.
Birding experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman say, “Pileated woodpeckers generally mate for life, but when one member of the pair dies, the surviving bird will look for a new mate. Although pileateds are not migratory, they do move around a little.
Early spring is an active courtship season for these birds, and that would be the most likely time for a wandering male to arrive in your area and pair up with the female that is still visiting your yard.
How Long Do Pileated Woodpeckers Live?
“There are several records of banded pileated woodpeckers that have lived nine years or longer, and one that lived almost 13 years,” Kenn and Kimberly say.
These are the 13 types of woodpeckers all birders should know.
Which Other Woodpeckers Form Long-Lasting Bonds?
Pileated woodpeckers usually form lifelong bonds, but that’s not the case for all woodpeckers. There’s variation in these birds’ mating habits.
Northern flickers, like pileateds, mate for life. Hairy woodpecker pairs often form lasting bonds, too.
Some others, such as red-bellied woodpeckers, remain together only for one mating season. Downy woodpeckers are the same way — they’ll stick together for mating season, but not for life. Some sapsuckers will stay together for mating season and reform the same pairing the following year.
Colony Nesting Woodpeckers
Acorn woodpeckers feature the most unique bonding habits of North American woodpecker species. While most North American woodpeckers stick with one mate at a time — whether for a season or for life — acorn woodpeckers of the west coast and Southwest live in colonies. Both sexes will take multiple mates.
After eggs are laid, the birds work together to raise young. That said, this group approach has a limit. Females destroy eggs laid in their nesting cavity before they’ve laid their own; once she’s laid her eggs, she stops destroying others, and cooperation resumes.
Sources
- Bird Alliance of Oregon, “The Home Lives of Oregon’s Woodpeckers“
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Acorn Woodpecker: Life History,” “Red-breasted Sapsucker: Life History“
About the Experts
Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman are the official bird experts for Birds & Blooms. They are the creators of the Kaufman Field Guide series and they lead birding trips all over the world.
