Woodpeckers are small, arboreal birds. The most remarkable thing about these creatures is the straight and tapered beak, which allows them to deftly deal with the insects of the bark. Among the people, woodpeckers received a second name – “forest doctor”. Even in fairy tales, woodpeckers are portrayed as honest and kind characters. He earned this reputation for supporting and curing trees from parasites.
Species of woodpeckers
In total, there are about 200 species of woodpeckers in the world. Let’s consider the main types:
Great pointed woodpecker
Despite this name, the woodpecker is quite small in size. Its length varies within 16 centimeters, and it weighs an average of only 20 grams. Differs in its beautiful variegated color. Males are distinguished by small red spots on the sides. This representative settled in the region of the south and east of Asia.
Common woodpecker (great spotted woodpecker)
A fairly widespread species of woodpeckers. It spread, in particular, in the territory of Eurasia. It can be found from the woodlands of England to the woodlands of Japan. A distinctive feature of common woodpeckers is their characteristic color. They have a bright white and black color that contrasts well with the red undertail. In some representatives, a red color can be observed in the head area.
Syrian woodpecker
The appearance of this representative does not differ much from that of an ordinary woodpecker. Some differences lie in the length of the beak of the Syrian woodpecker. And the presence of a more developed mottling. Some species have a large white spot in the area between the eye and shoulder, while the common woodpecker has two small spots in this area. This representative lives in the Middle East, the Balkans and in some regions of Eastern Europe.
White-backed woodpecker
This species of woodpeckers is of medium size with a body length of up to 31 centimeters and a weight of up to 300 grams. Its characteristic features are a long neck and an angular head. The upper body color of woodpeckers is black and the lower part is white. Sexual dimorphism of the sexes is the presence of a red cap in males, and a black one in females.
Red bellied woodpecker
Received this name due to its red color of the abdomen. It has another name – the red-necked woodpecker. It is rather small in size. The body size reaches 250 millimeters in length with a weight of up to 70 grams. Inhabited the territory of Southeast Asia.
Black woodpecker or Zhelna
A fairly well-known large representative of woodpeckers with a body length of up to 50 centimeters and a weight of up to 450 grams. You can identify the black woodpecker by the dark color of the feathers and the red cap. Distributed in forests near the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
African beard
An extremely remarkable representative of woodpeckers, which has variegated red, blue and yellow feathers near the beak. The largest representatives of this species grow up to 30 centimeters, and feed on large rodents. Bearded beards eat less insects and plant food. These representatives live in the tropical forests of Africa.
Nutrition
As noted above, the main diet of woodpeckers is various woody insects. They eat termites, ants, aphids and bark beetles. Woodpeckers very accurately identify infected trees, through their very thin hearing, which is able to record even a barely noticeable creak emitted in the bark of a tree.
Lifestyle
Woodpeckers themselves are predominantly sedentary species of birds that prefer to inhabit a specific territory. These birds are predominantly solitary. Pairs form only for the nesting period. Almost all the time they are looking for trees in which insects live. They pass the selected tree from bottom to top. Woodpeckers do not descend to the surface of the earth, since they cannot stand level on a horizontal surface. All the time they are in an upright position, even sleeping in it.
Communication between woodpeckers takes place by knocking out a tree, which is called “drum roll”. In this way, they mark their territory and attract females for breeding.
Reproduction
The breeding season of woodpeckers is marked with the arrival of spring. At this time, males actively lure females into their territory with the help of a trill. After the formation of a pair, the male and the female begin to equip the nest for future offspring. For the safety of their young, they hide their nests under branches.
The incubation period lasts 15 days. As a rule, from 3 to 7 eggs are born, from which very small and helpless woodpeckers then hatch: without sight, hearing and plumage. Cubs begin to get stronger after a month. During this period, they are actively covered with feathers, they begin to see and make sounds. Lacking the ability to fly, little woodpeckers run through the trees. They become fully sexually mature at the age of one.
Life span
Life expectancy can fluctuate depending on the species of woodpecker. The most tenacious is the gospodar woodpecker, which is able to live up to 30 years. The average duration of other woodpeckers hovers around 11 years.
