Birdlife in our village (2)

During the next few months this blog will post information about the birdlife in our village. Philip van den Berg (U34), who is an acclaimed environmentalist and wildlife photographer, provided the text and photographs.

This month we feature Woodpeckers.

PHILIP VAN DEN BERG writes: Woodpeckers have special adaptations to obtain food that is inaccessible to other birds. Their strong, chisel-like bills, short legs, stiff tail feathers, zygodactyl toes (two facing forward and two backwards), strong hooked claws and their long mobile tongues enable them to obtain insects and other prey living inside dry wood, under bark or in crevices.  Supported by their stiff tail feathers and clinging to the bark with their short legs, they drill into wood to detect borers and then use their long tongues to probe the cavities. Their tongues are sticky and have backward-facing barbs that enable them to extract their prey.

Cardinal Woodpecker feeding

With the exception of one, all woodpecker species are tree living, and many of them are typical bushveld birds.  One can expect to see some of these birds in our village.

Like barbets, they bore holes in trees for nesting. In 2017 a pair of Golden-tailed Woodpeckers (Afr. Goudstertspegte) started excavating a nesting hole in a dry White Karee tree stump next to the steps leading down to the Lapa.

Male Golden-tailed Woodpecker excavating a nesting hole in the village

Gender differences are subtle. As shown in die photographs below, one of the most common includes a prominent red stripe on the male's cheek extending from the base of the bill to the neck. This same stripe, but black with white spots, appears on females of the species.

Male Bennett's Woodpecker. Note the prominent red stripe on its cheek.

Female Golden-tailed Woodpecker. Note the different cheek stripe compared to the male above

Apart from Golden-tailed Woodpeckers (Afr. Goudstertspegte), species most likely to be seen in the village are Bennett’s Woodpeckers (Afr. Bennett se Spegte) and Cardinal Woodpeckers (Afr. Kardinaalspegte).

Female Cardinal Woodpecker