If you have read The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner, you are well-acquainted with “adaptive behaviors.” The Acorn Woodpecker typically eats bugs, as do most other woodpeckers. In watching the behaviors of other birds, sometimes a bird will learn new techniques for survival. In this case the Acorn Woodpecker has learned to come into the bird feeders for some black-oil sunflower seeds, which are rich in oils and a superlative source of food for many avian species.

Incredibly, I have seen this bird straddling a hummingbird feeder, a feat unto itself, and drinking nectar, a behavior he may have learned from watching either Hooded Orioles or hummingbirds. I even caught a Black-headed Grosbeak drinking nectar one day.

Birds are amazing creatures who have survived and evolved despite the encroachment of human beings. Loss of habitat is without question the number one cause of decline in many avian species. The recent return of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker could be a bittersweet event if the population is so small that reproductive success is an impossibility.

If any of these questions interest you, The Beak of the Finch is one of the greatest studies on adaptive evolution. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1994.