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.
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| 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.
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| 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. |
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| 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 |
