Traits: Birds with stout, pointed bills and stiff tails; white stripes on the backs; black and white markings on the face; red patch on the back of male's head

Habitat: Broadleaf or conifer forests, early successional stages that contain dying and dead trees (snags)

Foods: Insects that live beneath tree bark (bark and longhorn beetles, horntails and others)

Eaten by: Merlins, sharp-shinned hawks, falcons

Do You Know? These birds excavate holes in dead trees for nesting and roosting. Their holes later provide homes for other cavity-dependent birds and mammals.