Black Woodpecker - description, habitat, interesting facts

The content of the article

1 Where the bird prefers to settle
2 Features of lifestyle desirable
3 What eats bird
4 External characteristics
5 The period of breeding offspring
6 Interesting Facts
7 Video: Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius)

Black woodpeckers are considered the most amazing forest birds, representing the family of woodpeckers. This type has a second name - desirable. These beautiful, rather large birds can be found in the forests of the Eurasian part of the continent, in America and other regions of the planet. In total, the genus desires includes seven species of birds, some of which are listed in the Red Book.

Black woodpeckers differ from other representatives of this order of birds by their nature and behavior. True, all types of desire have a quality that unites them - this is an uneven flight. This bird has long been the object of close attention of ornithologists. Therefore, scientists were able to study well its habits, habits and lifestyle in general.

Where the bird prefers to settle

The black woodpecker is quite unpretentious.Therefore, birds of this species are found almost throughout the entire European part of the continent with the exception of the southern regions. Also, their favorite habitats are areas of Asia with suitable climatic conditions: these are Sakhalin, Kamchatka, and Siberia. Habitat includes the north of Japan, as well as the Korean Peninsula. Although black woodpeckers are mostly sedentary, sometimes they migrate outside their range. Typically, such movements occur in the winter season, and they are mainly related to the search for food.

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Features of lifestyle desirable

Black woodpeckers prefer a separate life. They form pairs only in the mating season, so that later together they can wait for the appearance of offspring. Representatives of this species of birds live mainly in coniferous or mixed forests. They often set up a home for themselves in the deaf taiga massifs, although they can settle on small islands of the forest zone located in the middle of the steppe. For these birds, the main condition is the presence of trees, where you can make yourself a home. Therefore, it is often desirable nests on the burns and in the field cutting.They choose diseased, smooth-bore trees, in which you can effortlessly gouge a hollow in order to prepare for the most crucial stage - the breeding of offspring.

I must say that the black woodpecker is not afraid of human presence. Therefore, if the bird finds a convenient object for housing arrangement in a forest-park zone within the city, it will quietly settle there. It should be noted that each pair jealously guards its habitat, which is about 300 hectares.

What eats bird

Although black woodpeckers are not particularly picky in terms of food, but their daily diet is quite impressive. In one day, they are able to eat an impressive amount of food - about 450 representatives of the insect class. In order to replenish the supply of useful substances for vital activity, caterpillars, ants, small beetles, larvae and other animal food are eagerly eaten.

In winter, when it becomes difficult to get food, black woodpeckers make short migrations in order to obtain food. In the cold season, they switch to vegetable food, being content with berries, seeds of coniferous trees, fruits.

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External characteristics

Black woodpecker can not be confused with any other bird, because it has the bright features of the external appearance.

First of all, it is a bright red “cap” - the most characteristic sign is desirable. In the male, bright plumage is common on the back of the head and in the frontal part of the head, while in the female it covers only the occipital region.
Another feature is a powerful, chisel-shaped beak, which even the strongest tree species cannot resist. In both sexes, the beak has a grayish-yellowish tint, it is rather long and straight.
The male's feathers cast a black sheen, while for the female it is dimmer with a brown tinge.
Young chicks are very similar to adults. The only difference is that the plumage of babies is loose and not as bright as in adult birds. Also in the first-year chicks, the red spot on the head is still vaguely expressed, and the beak has a pale shade and is strongly pointed.
One of the features desirable is their language. Thanks to the sticky secret that is in the bird's saliva, the food itself flows to the tongue. This quality helps woodpeckers to get small insects and ants right from the core of the trees.

The black woodpecker, as already noted, is a large bird.In the adult state, representatives of this species achieve the following parameters:

length - 50 cm (sometimes over this indicator);
body weight - about 300 g;
beak length up to 60 mm;
wingspan - 70-80 cm.

Adults in natural habitat live to seven years or more.

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The period of breeding offspring

By the end of the first year of life, the black woodpecker can already reproduce offspring. The mating season in these birds, as in most birds, begins in early spring. Looking for a girlfriend engaged male. Wanting to attract the attention of the beautiful half, he makes special guttural sounds, knocking loudly with a beak on a tree. This kind of ritual ends with the formation of a pair that is settled in the old hollow or settles in a new, male-prepared dwelling. It is worth noting here that birds of other species are happy to occupy hollows, over which woodpeckers have worked hard. But the owners do not show aggression towards the invaders from their homes, but calmly accept the arrangement of a new nest.

When laying eggs, black woodpeckers do not make litter. Usually the female incubates 5 eggs, and the whole period lasts about two weeks.When chicks appear, both parents deliver to the nest of food. They do it alternately for almost a month. During this period, the kids grow up and become capable of independent living. But before the offspring leave the nest, parents will surely teach them to get food for themselves, to navigate the terrain and other useful things. When the young learn the basics of adulthood, parents simply drive them away from their territory.

Interesting Facts

Black woodpeckers are ranked among the species of useful birds, as they help protect forest landings from harmful beetles. Given the ability of these birds to move from one place to another throughout life, they make an invaluable contribution, while maintaining the health of forests. The female desires to incubate chicks when there are two eggs in the clutch. For this reason, chicks are born at different times. But the main feature of black woodpeckers is their isolation, they are in contact with their relatives only during the breeding season.

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