Realistic woodpecker clinging to a tree trunk beside a hollow, with bark chips, branches, and forest leaves.

Woodpecker at a Tree Hollow

A sharp-beaked woodpecker grips a ridged tree trunk as bark chips scatter beside a round hollow in the woods.

🎨 How to color it

Give the woodpecker a black-and-white back with a bright crimson cap, make the rugged trunk warm brown, and color the ferns and leafy branches in mixed forest greens. Use sharp colored pencils for the bark grooves and feather rows, following each long line so the trunk and wings keep their texture. Add a playful twist by making the flying bark chips golden tan, as if the woodpecker has knocked loose tiny wooden confetti.

The story behind this coloring page

Gus and the Knock-Knock Guest — All morning, tap-tap-tap rang through the cedar woods as Gus tested the old trunk for the best hollow note. Read the full story →

All morning, tap-tap-tap rang through the cedar woods as Gus tested the old trunk for the best hollow note. The bark smelled dusty and sweet, and each peck sent crisp chips spinning past his toes. He wanted a rhythm that fit the forest exactly: fern-soft, branch-creaky, squirrel-sneaky. “Too clunky,” he muttered, and tried again.

Tap-tap—KNOCK. Gus froze with his beak in the air. From inside the hollow came another knock, smaller and cheekier. Then a striped beetle backed into view, wearing a curled wood shaving like a hat. She tapped the wall with two twig-sized feet: ticka-ticka-KNOCK.

Gus answered without thinking. Soon the cedar trunk was thumping, ticking, and rattling like a secret clubhouse band. Leaves shook with quiet laughter, and even the ferns seemed to lean closer. If you spot the round hollow and the flying chips, you may have found the exact place where Gus discovered his rhythm belonged.