great spotted woodpecker
For many people, in addition to the sparrow magpie crows around them, you may have to say that the next familiar bird is the woodpecker.
It is estimated that everyone has heard this kind of propaganda that "woodpeckers are forest doctors" when they were young, and in 1982, China also issued a set of "beneficial bird" stamps, one of which was the large spotted woodpecker. But even if everyone has heard a lot, there may not be so many people who have actually seen the big spotted woodpecker. This may be because they are usually active in trees, clinging to the bark, climbing up and down the trunk, not so easy to be observed, while Dai Sheng, who also has a large beak and is accustomed to moving on the ground, is often labeled a "woodpecker".
However, as long as we pay attention to observation, we will find that there are still many large spotted woodpeckers in Beijing, such as the Yuanmingyuan and the Temple of Heaven, such as densely wooded, beautiful environment parks, needless to say, even if the slightly larger community, as long as there are some older trees, especially poplar elms and the like, you can also find traces of large spotted woodpeckers.
This "trail" often begins with a series of loud "dobbling" knocking on the wood, if you have some curiosity, go to the tree where the sound comes from, look up, maybe you can see a black and white figure trying to beat on the trunk. If the angle is right, you can also see its white belly and red ass, there is a pause, saying that the woodpecker flips his head - showing off the flower ass, it seems that this red ass is also very impressive.
They knock east and west, changing places from time to time, and once they find bugs in the trunk, they increase the frequency, and after a while the sawdust splashes, and they hook a bug out of the hole and eat it.
Many people must have wondered, woodpeckers knock on tree trunks so frantically, they don't concussion? Scientists are also interested in this question. People have found that the brain of woodpeckers is relatively small, the force caused by acceleration is relatively small, and the shorter the impact time, the greater the acceleration that the brain can withstand, and the more comprehensive calculation, the woodpeckers who frantically knock on the tree, their brains can withstand up to 5000-6000 G of acceleration, while humans can only withstand acceleration of up to less than 50 G. The structure of the head and neck of woodpeckers also helps to cushion, and they strike the trunk straight up and down without twisting to the neck.
Woodpeckers pecking wood, in addition to finding food, there is a very important function, that is, to make holes and build nests. Woodpeckers are cave nest birds, that is, they have to make nests in tree holes to breed, therefore, mature woods, with a chest diameter enough suitable trees is the key to keep woodpeckers, some areas are single, newly planted plantations, although it looks very green, but there will be no woodpecker activity.
In addition to woodpeckers, there are many birds that also nest in caves, such as starlings, owls, etc., but most of them do not dig their own holes, what to do? Fortunately, woodpeckers are more generous, their nests are chiseled once a year, the second year is no longer used, woodpecker abandoned tree holes, it gives many other birds in the forest an opportunity, and because of this, there is no woodpecker forest, these also live in the tree hole birds will be very few, this forest is easy to appear diseases and insect pests, if people desperately use pesticides to kill insects, there is a danger of becoming a "green desert" with only trees and no animals.
From this point of view, the role of the little woodpecker in the environment is very, very important.
Author: 蛐 蛐
Editor, Proofreader: Wei Yao