gregarious feeding habits. Although it does forage for insects by boring into trees with its chisel-like bill, the bird also catches insects in the air during flight (typical insect hawking), a habit that only a few other woodpeckers, such as the Acorn woodpecker, the red-headed woodpecker and the northern flicker, engage in. Lewis's woodpecker also feeds on berries and nuts, and will even shell and store nuts in cracks and holes in wood to store until winter. It will also feed at flat, open bird feeders where it might act aggressively toward other birds. Breeding Lewis's woodpecker nests in a cavity excavated from a dead tree branch. The nest is constructed mainly by the male. The female will lay between 5 and 9 eggs, which are plain white in coloration. Both sexes incubate—the female during the day and the male at night. Incubation lasts approximately 12 days, after which the young will hatch. The young leave the nest four to five weeks after hatching. References External links Lewis's woodpecker - Melanerpes lewis - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter Lewis's woodpecker Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology Lewis's woodpecker photo gallery VIREO Photo-Medium Res; Article w/species analysis dwrcdc.nr.Utah.gov–Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Photo-High Res; Article pbase Lewis's woodpecker Lewis's woodpecker Native birds of Western Canada Native birds of the Western United States Lewis's woodpecker