Great Spotted Woodpecker - description, habitat

By a big colorful woodpecker is meant a useful and noisy bird, which is distinguished by special appearance data. Very often, individuals of the represented family are heard in park areas, in summer cottages, in a forest belt and other places of this type. The bird is famous for the variegated color of the plumage and for the strong beak with which it hammer the tree. Otherwise, woodpeckers are called forest nurses. Today we will study everything that affects representatives of the breed group. Where they live, what they eat, etc.

Description

1. These birds become recognizable due to the presence of a red cap on the head. Not all woodpeckers have such a feather ornament. Only the young have this headdress. Perhaps it will remain for life or disappear when the bird reaches puberty.
2. In adult-type individuals, molting takes place every year. These red motley feathers on the head are gradually replaced by black ones.Birds of male sex are more beautiful than females, they have a strip of red color on the occipital region. It is for this particular birds differ in different sexes.
3. You can add to the description that, regardless of gender, in the area under the tail there will be a strip of bright red tone. In the rest of the hull black plumage with white patches.
4. In the back area there are feathers with a bluish tint. Above the tail, and also in the upper part of the head and on the very tail, the feathers are also coal with blue. The same color painted wing wings. A strip of black tone, which is comparable to a mustache, extends from the mouth of the bird to its back of the neck.
5. Cheeks can be whitish or light with brownish impregnations. The shoulders, the tail on the edge, the frontal part, the abdominal zone are painted in a similar color. On the wing wings white feathers are present. As for the overall features, the bird belongs to the mid-size.
6. By weight category, the individual grows to 0.1 kg. The length of the hull figures reach about 27 cm. As for the wingspan, the value varies at around 45-48 cm.It is worth comparing a bird of variegated and small type. The second in weight is 25 g., In height - 15 cm, in scope - 30 cm.
7. People who do not have sufficient information regarding how these birds look are often confused with young individuals of the listed species. Paws of variegated birds are dark with brown tint. Klyuvik blackish, with some silver, powerful and strong. The eye iris is brown but may be reddish.

Habitat

1. Birds of the represented family are often found in the open spaces of Eurasia. They live, ranging from Scandinavia and ending with the Iberian Peninsula. They are found from Japan to the Kuriles, and the population from Laos to Western Siberia also extends.
2. Individuals of the group under discussion in large quantities are common in England. They are met in Corsica, Iran, Sardinia and Sicily. Also there are representatives of the group in Mongolia and China. It does not do, of course, without Ukraine and the Russian Federation. In the Moscow region of these birds very much.
3. There are individuals in the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. Not without the Urals and the Arctic.There are individuals in the region of Tunisia, present in Algeria and other regions of Africa. Specimens were observed in Morocco, on the Canary Islands. Representatives of the group are located where there are coniferous and deciduous trees.
4. If woodpeckers have a choice, they will always prefer to live surrounded by pine trees. Also like olive branches, poplar, oak, birch, aspen. But prefer to stay away from places where it is too dark. These birds are loyal to people, may be in park areas and on the backyard plots.

Nutrition

1. In winter and autumn, these individuals lean on food of plant origin. They feed on nuts, seeds obtained from conifers, as well as acorns. Birds are very interested in prey feed. They wield their powerful beak, literally breaking the bark.
2. Also, the birds break the bumps, then do their dressing. To this end, the cones are sent to the anvil, which is a gap between trees or stones.
3. First, these birds smash a cone using their strong beak. Then they sweep away the husks, pick out the seeds and regale themselves. After a similar meal next to the individual is a huge mountain of waste.Then it is replenished and replenished as the bird eats.
4. If a mountain of shavings was seen, it means that a woodpecker is present nearby. This all lasts until spring comes. When the warm season comes, nature becomes beautiful, it comes to life, and for woodpeckers it serves as an additional source of food.
5. When an individual of a species under discussion knocks on a tree trunk, the bird's brain shakes. Because of this, almost no one woodpecker does not live to old age, dying from a concussion. Autopsies were performed, in which they showed that the brain of these birds simply turns into a mess from the constant chiseling of wood.
6. But let's not retreat from the main thing. Woodpeckers thus obtain food. When they bang on the bark, various insects crawl out of the cracks. This bird grabs them and eats accordingly. Some smarter individuals know where to knock, to get food right out of the bark. The basis of the diet in the summer are small caterpillars, beetles.
7. When the birds in question are hungry, they look for any hole in the bark to get a meal from it. They usually begin their research from the bottom of the trunk. Then move up.Woodpeckers live only on old plants that are already infected with bugs. That is, it turns out that they relieve the diseased tree from pests, acting as a kind of healers.
8. Interestingly, woodpeckers have not only a decent-sized beak, but also a tongue. It can reach about 5 cm in size. It is precisely with the tongue that the birds get food if it is necessary to crawl into very narrow holes or crevices. In the spring, after the birds break the bark, they absorb the sap of the tree.

Characteristics

1. It is worth noting that the individuals in question often live in tall trees. Woodpeckers even climb on them much better than they fly. The presented individuals are very adapted to similar conditions. It really delights.
2. By nature, woodpeckers have a pointed tail. In this case, the bird plumage is pretty tough. It is thanks to the powerful tail of the birds in question without any problems moving through the trees. Also, individuals have a rather interesting structure of the limbs.
3. The front pair of fingers is opposed to the back pair. Due to this unusual feature, birds can hold onto branches at high altitude without any problems, without losing their balance.Woodpeckers use wings only when they need to fly to another tree.
4. Woodpeckers have a powerful beak, and they also transmit the necessary information to each other through it. Often you can hear that such individuals are constantly hollowed into iron and empty cans. In this way the birds communicate with their fellows. You can also find out where the woodpeckers are.
5. The individuals in question have a rather vociferous voice. At the same time he is nasal and hoarse. In most cases, woodpeckers try to stick to a sedentary lifestyle. Birds are not in a hurry to move long distances. Ingoda individuals can fly to neighboring regions in search of food.
6. It should be noted that the represented birds prefer to adhere to a lone way of existence. Each woodpecker has its own territory in which birds get their food. Often, individuals collide with each other, dividing feeding areas. Fights are plotted solely on individuals of the same sex.
7. It is worth noting that the battles are quite violent. Birds strike very hard with their powerful beaks. In strong scuffles, woodpeckers use even their wings.Birds are in a frightening position, thereby warning the opponent about their aggression. Woodpeckers open their beaks and ruffle feathers.
8. The individuals in question have unwavering courage. Such birds do not fear even dangerous predators. At the same time, woodpeckers try to be careful. If individuals can escape from danger, they will definitely take advantage of this opportunity. As for people, the birds try to ignore them.
9. Therefore, woodpeckers always indifferently perceive all observers who often appear in the forest. In this case, birds can only slowly move to another trunk. In rare cases, such individuals can fly to a quieter place. It is worth noting that woodpeckers do no harm to humans.
10. The individuals in question are not at risk and their population is really numerous. However, some species are still listed in the Red Book. For unknown reasons, the number of motley woodpeckers has been rapidly declining in recent times. Experts believe that this is due to massive deforestation.
11. In order to somehow preserve their numbers, such species begin to pair up.It is worth noting that woodpeckers are monogamous, but because of the disappearance of the species, each season individuals replace their partners. Some couples still prefer not to part. Even satellites hibernate together.

Woodpeckers unique birds, which have unusual characteristics for birds. Separately, it is worth mentioning that individuals reach sexual maturity in the second year of life. During the mating season, the males create a lot of noise. They clap their wings loudly and constantly scream.

Video: Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)