woodpecker

Definition

Any bird of species-rich family Picidae, with a strong pointed beak suitable for pecking holes in wood.

Etymology

From wood + pecker. Compare Middle English wod spek (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodehake (“woodpecker”), Middle English wodewale (“woodpecker”). Displaced speight.

Example Sentences

• "On its summit towered aloft the fir tree which has often been referred to, like a mighty mast, full of woodpeckers' holes."
• "His skin was scarlet like the head of the green woodpecker."
• "An adult female of this rare woodpecker was taken at 6,000 feet in April 1925 near Chingchuan in the forests of northern Szechuan."