A woodpecker is a migratory bird or not? Looking for the answer to these and other questions

Each of us had the opportunity to hear the knock of a woodpecker. When you watch this colorful british bird, you are amazed how in such a small body there is enough strength to chop a tree with such speed and zeal. What do we know about this feathered worker? A woodpecker is a migratory bird or not? Where does he live? What eats, except for insects? How does it multiply? Answers to all these questions, as well as photos of a beautiful and useful bird are presented in the article. Enjoy reading and watching!

Appearance

The family of woodpeckers consists of 30 species of birds. They dwell almost all over the globe, except for Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Antarctica. The most common representative of this family in Russia is a motley woodpecker. A migratory bird or not, we will learn about this later, but for now let's talk about its external features.

To learn the motley woodpecker it is possible on a coloring: to a black-and-white trunk and wings, a red "cap" on a head and the same color to feathers of the bottom part of a tail. Paws in the bird are short, not adapted to travel on the ground. But the structure of the limbs (thin, long, spread fingers) allows the bird to cling to the trunk of the tree well. Hooked sharp claws cling well to the bark, which allows the bird to hold on to the vertical surface. The beak has a chisel shape. Thanks to this structure of this part of the body, the woodpecker easily breaks the trunk particles and chops wood. The speed of beak hits reaches 10 times per second.

Where does he live?

A woodpecker is a forest bird. This fact is confirmed by all literature of an encyclopedic nature. But it can not be said that this species of bird lives only in the forest. It will be more correct to notice that this is a wild bird that lives where there are trees. In addition to the forest, we can observe variegated woodpeckers in virtually every urban courtyard and park. The birds of this species are lodging in hollows, which are hollowed out in the trunks of the trees themselves in order to lay eggs in them and bring out the chicks. A woodpecker is a wintering or a migratory bird? About this we learn after we get acquainted with the information about what the representatives of this species of birds eat.

What does a woodpecker eat?

This bird is omnivorous. In the warm season, the main delicacy for her are insects: caterpillars, ants, spiders, various beetles. Woodpeckers living near water bodies can eat crustaceans and small snails. There are also cases when birds of this species feed on eggs and chicks of small breeds of wild birds (sparrows, tits). In populated areas, woodpeckers can be observed in landfills where they eat food waste. In the cold season, the woodpecker, a useful bird, sits on seeds of plants, mostly coniferous trees. In spring representatives of this genus feathered love to pamper themselves with birch sap. They chop a hole in the bark of a tree until the sweet liquid begins to drip, and then it is drunk.

How does the woodpecker winter?

From the above information about what a bird eats in the cold season, we can conclude that the woodpecker is a wintering bird. And this is absolutely true. A woodpecker lives where he was born. And if he came into the world where there is winter, then in that place he is waiting for her. Migration of birds of this species can be for short distances, only during periods of severe frost. Then woodpeckers can migrate from the forest closer to populated areas. With food at this time it is very difficult for them. In snowy winters, it is almost impossible to find feathered fodder. It is for this reason that woodpeckers can fly to human habitation. Indifferent people feed these, however, as well as other wintering birds, hanging on the trees and roofs of houses feeding troughs. With the onset of the first warm days feathered "informers" or again return to their habitats, or take root forever in the vicinity of the village.

Reproduction

So, the woodpecker is a migratory bird or not? You found out the answer to this question, and then we'll talk about how their breeding season passes. At the end of winter, representatives of this kind of birds gather in small flocks. Males make loud noises resembling crackling, thus inviting females to mating. When the pair formed, they choose a tree and begin to equip the nesting place. In April-May the woodpecker lays eggs in the amount of 3 to 8 pieces. The pair incubates them alternately. Chicks appear on the 15th day. Another month the kids stay in the hollow where the male and the female bring food. By the end of July, the fledging chicks begin to learn how to fly, but before that they independently leave the hollow and move around the tree, clinging firmly to the bark with their sharp claws. Woodpeckers-parents take care of their children until the end of summer, until they learn to fly confidently, independently procure themselves food. After this, there comes a period when all representatives of the feathered family scatter, and each of them begins to live separately. The next spring the breeding cycle begins again.

Interesting fact

In a conversation about whether a woodpecker is a migratory bird or not, how the representative of the feathered world lives and how this representative of the world feeds, one wants to recall one more of its name - a forest officer. Why call it that way? Because it destroys harmful insects - each of us will say. The answer is correct, but not quite complete. The woodpecker chops only sick trees. On young healthy plants you will not see it. On a living green tree, it will be hollowed only in the place where it is sick. Thus, the bird eliminates the focus of the disease and protects the plant from further damage. That's it, he, a little feathered forest nurse!