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great spotted woodpecker
In the city where we live, there is such a small bird, its red buttocks, black and white feathers, very conspicuous. When flying, the wings open and close, and the flight path is like a beautiful curve of large waves. Every time I see it, I am always attracted to its gorgeous buttocks. Watch it spiral upwards over insect-infested trees, making a "clicking" sound from time to time. And that's the forest doctor, the Dendrocopos major.
The large-spotted woodpecker is a dominant bird species in the north, and they can be found everywhere. They are small birds with a body length of 20 to 25 cm. Adults are roughly black and white , with a predominantly black back and wings ; the forehead , cheeks , and ear feathers are white. A large white spot on the shoulder and wings is very conspicuous, hence the name Large Spotted Woodpecker. The tail is black , and the outer tail feathers and flight feathers are black and white transverse spots. In addition, the large spotted woodpecker's abdomen and subtail coverts, that is, near the buttocks, show a bright red color, which is very prominent between black and white, and can often be noticed at a glance when viewed from the side.
The back of the head is red – the male bird
Large-spotted woodpeckers are similar to males and females, and many common ways to distinguish the sex of birds are often not feasible in large-spotted woodpeckers. Since we tend to climb on the trunk when we observe the large spotted woodpecker, and because they prefer to spiral upwards without dead angles to knock on the trunk, it often turns behind the trunk when you see it, making it difficult for you to observe more body details. In fact, the way to distinguish between male and female is very simple, you only need to use sharp eyes to locate its pillow (back of the head), if there is red then the male, if there is no red is the female. In fact, many woodpeckers can use a similar method to identify males and females, that is, the males have all or part of their heads red, and the females are black or brown.
The back of her head is black – the female
Another feature of birds of the woodpecker family is that the long neck is suitable for chiseling tree trunks for feeding. Their feet are very strong, with four toes, two of which are forward, the 1st and 4th toes are backwards, and the toes of each toe have sharp claws, both skillfully climbing trees and firmly grasping the trunk to maintain balance. Their tail feathers are stiff as spines, and their tips can be supported on the trunk, helping their feet support their weight and climb the trunk. Their mouths are strong and chisel-like, their tongues are slender and retractable, and they have short hooks juxtaposed at the apex. When climbing wood foraging, he knocks on the tree with his mouth, and knocks very fast, like a drum. When an insect is detected, it pecks through the bark of the tree and uses its tongue to probe into the hook to take the pest and eat it.
The large spotted woodpecker is a resident bird in Beijing, inhabiting the woods, and is commonly found in gardens, trees and forests in mountains and plains, and is one of the most common woodpecker birds. It feeds mainly on insects, especially various borer pests, such as the larvae of the celestial cow hidden in the trunk, and occasionally eats plant foods such as acorns, pine nuts, thick plums and grass seeds. They eat the pests of forestry ecology and are the natural guardians of our cities.
At the same time, the large spotted woodpecker nests in tree holes, and most of the tree holes in their nests are chiseled out by male birds with their mouths on decaying trunks. Their old nests will be used by other small burrow birds in the coming year, which is also the contribution of the large spotted woodpecker to nature.
In Beijing, they can be seen almost everywhere there are trees. As long as we calm down and listen carefully, many times we can hear the sound of them trying to knock on the trunk, very loud, far away. Whenever I walked on the side of the road and saw them, I would stop and quietly watch it circle and knock on the trunk of the tree, and suddenly it flew away, and it should continue to start its busy work in the woods.
Author: Lv Xinyue
Photo: Han Meow-
Editor, Proofreader: Wei Yao
Editor: Sha Yongqiang