See Also: woodpecker(medicine)
woodpecker(dictionary)
woodpecker(encyclopedia)
woodpecker(dictionary)
ivory-billed woodpecker(encyclopedia)

woodpecker (iou)



woodpecker noun. Also woodpeck. M16.
[from WOOD noun1 + PECKER.]
Any of numerous perching and climbing birds of the subfamily Picinae (family Picidae), which are characterized by the habit of tapping or pecking holes in the trunks and branches of trees in search of invertebrate prey, typically have variegated or strongly marked plumage, and are found in most continents. Freq. with specifying word. M16.
green woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, ladder-back woodpecker, pied woodpecker, spotted woodpecker, three-toed woodpecker, etc.
A machine-gun. US & Austral. Military slang. L19.