How to Use woodpecker in a Sentence

woodpecker

noun
  • At no point does the woodpecker appear to deal the chicks a death blow.
    — Jason Bittel, Smithsonian, 4 Jan. 2017
  • The woodpeckers have learned that the granary tree is the best way to do this.
    — Ernie Cowan Outdoors, sandiegouniontribune.com, 7 Apr. 2018
  • In the nearby woods, a woodpecker drums for its mate.
    — Literary Hub, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Keep an eye out for this desert woodpecker as another species to add to your life list.
    — Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2019
  • An old larch makes a great choice for cavity nesters like woodpeckers.
    — Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 21 Sep. 2025
  • Even a woodpecker shimmies down from atop the tree, but heads back up for insects.
    — Allan Ripp, WSJ, 9 Nov. 2020
  • Suet cakes are one of the best foods for attracting woodpeckers.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2026
  • Suet cakes are one of the best foods for attracting woodpeckers.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 May 2025
  • Holes that are in rows are caused by woodpeckers and sapsuckers.
    — Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 June 2024
  • The woodpecker moved on, and the owlet fledged with its two siblings about an hour later.
    — Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
  • But findings about the woodpecker's skull bones might be more useful.
    — Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 28 Oct. 2011
  • The owls often like to make their nests in the cavities that woodpeckers have left in the trees.
    — Shannon Sims, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Herons, egrets, sandhill cranes and pileated woodpeckers are among the dozens of species of birds that hang out here.
    — Judy Rose, Detroit Free Press, 14 Sep. 2019
  • However, the noise could be caused by a woodpecker drilling on the gutters or near to one of them.
    — Joan Morris, Mercury News, 21 July 2025
  • As if on cue, a woodpecker swooped in and began to poke its long, narrow beak into the thick trunk.
    — Quanta Magazine, 29 Nov. 2021
  • The same woodpecker attacked the soffits on both of our houses.
    — Matthew Klam, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2022
  • At this point, the woodpecker begins extracting brain and blood with its long, sticky tongue.
    — Jason Bittel, Smithsonian, 4 Jan. 2017
  • Despite many searches mounted over the years, the woodpecker hadn’t been seen in decades.
    — Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2021
  • Peanuts in the shell can be offered to large birds like woodpeckers, jays, and crows, which will cache them for the winter.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Downy, hairy, red-bellied, and pileated are the four common woodpecker species this time of year.
    — Star Tribune, 21 Jan. 2021
  • Carbon fiber rods stand in for the woodpecker’s beak, while bent carbon fiber strips work in place of the hyoid bone.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 23 Sep. 2025
  • The aye-aye, in essence, became a woodpecker by primate standards.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 10 May 2026
  • The woodpecker hammers its beak into tree trunks twelve thousand times a day at at fifteen miles an hour.
    — Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 28 Oct. 2011
  • Hear about the woodpeckers in Indiana and learn how to attract them to your own yard.
    — Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Apr. 2024
  • These black-and-white woodpeckers, recognizable for their bright red crest, are large – about the size of a crow.
    — Tom Langen, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Hang suet feeders away from the house, which may distract woodpeckers and keep them away from your home, says Pierce.
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
  • But we were distracted by a Nuttall’s woodpecker that was hard to miss.
    — The New York Times Elaine Chen Emily Anthes, New York Times, 18 May 2023
  • For a larger bird like a hawk or woodpecker that might try to sink a beak or talon into your skin, call in an expert right away.
    — Purbita Saha, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2020
  • In a corner, an American three-toed woodpecker sits in a tree.
    — James F. Lee, Washington Post, 7 July 2022
  • The stillness of deep winter is broken only by the drumming of a woodpecker in the tree canopy.
    — Brian Mann, NPR, 25 Feb. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'woodpecker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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