Gila woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis), snacking on buckthorn berries (Condalia globosa). At the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona. 

These birds are well adapted to urban life. After his meal this bird flew to a light post on the garden path and started hammering on its metal cover – amplifying his staccato message to nearby females and announcing his territory to competing males. 

Gila woodpecker (Melanerpes uropygialis), snacking on buckthorn berries (Condalia globosa). At the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona. 

These birds are well adapted to urban life. After his meal this bird flew to a light post on the garden path and started hammering on its metal cover – amplifying his staccato message to nearby females and announcing his territory to competing males.