Woodpeckers in zoos

For all their prominence in woodland ecosystems woodpeckers are very uncommon in captivity. I doubt that for most species their diet is a reason for their scarcity, although they may be predators of other nesting birds so I expect they would require an aviary of their own. Have any species been bred in captivity at all? I would think at least some would be quite interesting display animals.

 

You might find this discussion of interest, although it's a little out-of-date now: Knock on wood: woodpeckers in zoos

 

The link below provides useful information about bird species that have bred in captivity in the UK.

Woodpeckers are featured at the bottom of page 27.

http://www.avisoc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/UK-First-Breeding-Register.pdf

 

Has the red cockaded woodpecker ever been kept in captivity

 

Furtheremore, (nearly) all native woodpeckers have bred in private collections. They require special care so they are less attractive for most zoos.

 

Are there any USA zoos that keep Gila woodpeckers?

 

Utah's Hogle Zoo has a couple of 'rehab' birds. I don't think any zoo has a breeding group.

 

wild gila woodpecker by Arizona Docent posted 2 Jan 2014 at 10:21 PM

I have never thought about this before, but now that you mention it, I do not recall seeing woodpeckers in zoos. I have been to a hundred zoos as an adult and off the top of my head I do not remember one single woodpecker exhibit. (That does not mean there are not a few around even at zoos I visited, it just means I do not remember them). As for gila woodpeckers, there may be some in the aviary at Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. For sure wild ones are seen regularly on the grounds (photo attached).

 

San Diego Zoo has at least one pair of Greater Yellownaped Woodpeckers still, and Toledo has a couple of Common Flamebacks kicking around.

 

They damage aviary structures as they behave naturally and can be predatory esp. at nests. So it would be nice to see them more but we don't. I've only seen the white woodpecker in a zoo.

 

Gila woodpecker at North carolina zoo 2015-1-19 | ZooChat
A picture of a Gila Woodpecker taken by a zoochatter in North Carolina Zoo in 2015. I am guessing it is captive due to the unnatural background

 

Ituri has also seen captive Gila Woodpeckers
'I have seen greater yellow-naped and Gila woodpeckers personally in zoos, but neither were in exhibits that highlighted them specifically apart from any other exhibit birds.'

And there is also proof that Gila woodpeckers have been/are in Arizona Sonora Desert Museum:
siamang27
'ASDM has Gila Woodpeckers in their aviary as well as wild throughout the park.'

And according to Zootierliste, London zoo kept Gila Woodpeckers.

 

Hogle Zoo and Reid Park, Pima County, Arizona have also kept Gila Woodpeckers

 

And also, a lot of Asian Woodpeckers are often seen in the Illegal Wildlife Trade, usually in bird markets.

 

Minnesota Zoo has a Pileated Woodpecker and Zoo Miami has a Red-bellied Woodpecker on display.

 

Realy strange that this large family of birds from which many species are real colorfull birds are so rarely kept and bred in captivity because their close relatives, for example Toucans and Barbets are regulary kept !
I myself have taken care for 5 species and had breeding-results with 2 of them :
- Hispaniolan woodpecker - took care for it at Walsrode ( bred there after I left ) - see Hispaniolan woodpecker | ZooChat
- Black-cheeked woodpecker - took care for it and bred it very succesfully at both a privat collection in the Netherlands and at Walsrode.
- White woodpecker - also taken care for and bred succesfully at Walsrode. See White woodpecker | ZooChat
- Great spotted woodpecker - took care for several injured ( wild ) bird which were brought to Walsrode and after recovery, they were released again into the wild.
- European green woodpecker - the same as for the Great spotted woodpecker.
Next to these 5 species I guess I've seen maybe 5 to 7 other species in captivity

 

I have lived in Tucson over 20 years and been a Reid Park Zoo member the entire time and I do not ever remember gila woodpeckers. It must have been A LONG time ago when they had them (or they had them in the old aviary when I first moved here and I just do not remember it specifically). Or perhaps the source of the information is confusing Reid Park Zoo with Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, as both are in Pima County (which the post specifically mentions).

 

Found this intresting note on breeding the Black-cheeked by Raymond Sawyer at Chestut Lodge :

Not many woodpeckers were imported and few have been bred in captivity here in the UK, but one which was bred successfully at Cobham is the Black-cheeked Woodpecker Melanerpes pucherani from Central and northern South America. The male and female look similar to each other, except that the male's cap is a stronger shade of red. This species was first bred there in 1992. The pair nested in the trunk of a Silver Birch Betula pendula, cut into three sections for ease of handling and moveability. Once the pair had excavated the nest hole, there was nothing further to do but wait and hope until they saw lots offood being taken into the nest and then knew the pair had young. Eventually four emerged. Raymond believed they remained in the nest for about three weeks. The pair went on to breed successfully on numerous other occasions, including in 1996. Over the years Raymond found that woodpeckers enjoy nectar and always ensured that it was available for them. He added, that as well as nectar, the Black-cheeked Woodpeckers liked softbill food, fruit and livefood. At the time, the pair shared the flight with a Scarlet-chested Sunbird Nectarinia senegalensis and Raymond got pleasure from watching the sunbird and woodpeckers drinking from the same dish of nectar. He found it is not a particularly aggressive species. When the pair first bred, it was sharing the flight with a pair of Black-naped Fruit Doves Ptilinopus melanospila.