Great Spotted Woodpecker - description, habitat

A large mottled woodpecker is understood to be a useful and noisy bird, which is distinguished by special external 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 its colorful plumage and strong beak with which it hollows a tree. Otherwise, woodpeckers are called forest orderlies. Today we will study everything that affects the representatives of the breed group. Where they live, what they eat, etc.

Description

1. These birds become recognizable due to the presence of red caps on their heads. Not all woodpeckers have such an ornament of small feathers. Exceptionally young animals have this headgear. Perhaps he will remain for life or disappear when the bird reaches puberty.
2. In adults, molting takes place every year. These red mottled feathers on the head are gradually replaced by black. Birds of male gender are more beautiful than females; they have a strip of red in the occipital region. It is for this feature that birds of different sexes differ.
3. It is possible to add to the description that, regardless of gender, a strip of bright red tone will be present in the area under the tail. In the rest of the body, the plumage is black with white splashes.
4. In the back zone there are feathers with a bluish tint. Above the tail, as well as in the upper part of the head and on the tail itself, the feathers are also coal with blue. Fly wings are painted with the same color. 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 blotches. The shoulders, tail on the edge, the frontal part, and the abdominal zone are painted in the same color. Feathers are white feathers. As for the overall features, the bird is medium-sized.
6. By weight category, the individual grows to 0.1 kg. Along the length of the hull, the indicators reach about 27 cm. As for the wingspan, the value varies at around 45–48 cm. It is worth comparing the pied and small type bird. The second by weight is 25 grams, by height - 15 cm, by span - 30 cm.
7. People who do not have enough information about how these birds look often confuse the young individuals of the listed species. Paws of motley birds are dark with brown tint. The bill is blackish, with a certain amount of silver, powerful and strong. The eyes are brown, but they can also be reddish.

Habitat

1. Birds of the represented family are often found in the vastness of Eurasia. They live, starting from Scandinavia and ending with the Iberian Peninsula. They are found from Japan to the Kuril Islands, and a population is also extended from Laos to Western Siberia.
2. Individuals of the group under discussion are abundant in England. They are met in Corsica, in Iran, in Sardinia and Sicily. Representatives of the group also live in Mongolia and China. Not without, of course, without Ukraine and the Russian Federation. In the Moscow region there are a lot of these birds.
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, are present in Algeria and other regions of Africa. Individuals were seen in Morocco, in the Canary Islands. Representatives of the group are located where there are coniferous and deciduous trees.
4. If woodpeckers have a choice, then they will always prefer to live surrounded by pine trees. Also like olive branches, poplar, oak, birch, aspen. But they prefer to stay farther from places where it is too dark.These birds are loyal to people, can be located in park areas and on personal 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 forage. They wield their powerful beak, literally breaking the bark.
2. Also, the birds tear off the cones, then engage in their cutting. To this end, the cones are sent to the anvil, which is a gap between trees or stones.
3. First, these birds break the cone using their strong beak. Then they sweep the husk, pick out the seeds and regale themselves. After such a meal, a huge mountain of waste is located next to the individual. Then it is replenished and replenished as the bird eats.
4. If a mountain of shavings was noticed, then a woodpecker is present nearby. It all lasts until spring comes. When the warm season comes, nature becomes beautiful, comes to life, and for woodpeckers it serves as an additional source of food.
5. When an individual of the species under discussion knocks on a tree trunk, the bird's brain shakes. Because of this, almost one woodpecker does not live to old age, dying from a concussion. An autopsy was performed, in which they showed that the brain of these birds simply turns into a mess from the constant sweeping of wood.
6. But we will not recede from the main thing. Woodpeckers thus obtain food. When they knock on the bark, various insects crawl out of the cracks. This bird grabs them and eats accordingly. Some smarter individuals know where to knock in order to get food directly from the bark. The basis of the diet in the summer is small caterpillars, beetles.
7. When the birds in question are hungry, they look for any hole in the bark to get a meal out of 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 peculiar healers.
8. Interestingly, woodpeckers have not only a decent beak, but also a tongue. It can reach a size of about 5 cm. It is 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 on tall trees. Woodpeckers climb on them much better than they fly. The presented individuals are very adapted to similar conditions. This is really amazing.
2. By nature, woodpeckers have a pointed tail. At the same time, the plumage of the bird is rather hard. It is thanks to the powerful tail that the birds in question move through the trees without any problems. Also, individuals have a rather interesting structure of limbs.
3. The front pair of fingers is opposed to the rear pair. Thanks to such an unusual feature, birds can cling to 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 use it to transmit necessary information to each other. You can often hear that such individuals constantly hammer in iron and empty tin cans. In this way, birds communicate with their brethren. You can also find out where the woodpeckers are.
5. The considered individuals have a rather loud voice. At the same time, it is nasal and hoarse. In most cases, woodpeckers try to stay sedentary. Birds are in no hurry to travel long distances. Ingoda individuals can fly to neighboring regions in search of food.
6. It is worth noting that the represented birds prefer to adhere to a lonely way of being.Each woodpecker has its own territory on which the birds obtain their own food. Often individuals collide with each other, sharing food areas. Fighting takes place exclusively on individuals of the same sex.
7. It is worth noting that fights are quite fierce. Birds strike very hard with their powerful beaks. In strong brawls, woodpeckers even use wings. The birds become in a terrifying pose, thereby warning the opponent about their aggression. Woodpeckers open their beaks and ruffle feathers.
8. The considered individuals have unshakable courage. Such birds do not fear even dangerous predators. In this case, woodpeckers try to be careful. If individuals can escape from danger, they will certainly take advantage of this opportunity. As for people, the birds try to ignore them.
9. Therefore, woodpeckers are always indifferent to all observers who often appear in the forest. In this case, the 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 not harm a person.
10. The individuals under consideration are not in danger and their population is really numerous. However, some species are still listed in the Red Book. For unknown reasons, it is the number of motley woodpeckers that has been rapidly declining recently. Experts believe that this is due to massive deforestation.
11. In order to somehow preserve their numbers, such species begin to join in pairs. It is worth noting that woodpeckers are monogamous, but due to the disappearance of the species, individuals replace partners each season. Some couples still prefer not to part. Even the satellites winter together.

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

Video: Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)