Bearded Woodpecker

Bearded Woodpecker - Dzięcioł Sawannowy

Africa, Botswana, Okavango Delta, 2012

Description

The four savanna woodpecker species are superficially very alike in appearance and coloration and therefore misidentifications would have occurred, but probably somewhat less frequently in case of the Bearded Woodpecker which is noticeably larger and his similar bold facial markings in both the male and female. It also has distinctive drumming behavior which renders it conspicuous, and this may account for its comparatively high reporting rates. The sexes look very similar, except that the males have a small red patch on the back of their head.

Habitat

The Bearded woodpecker occurs from central Africa to southern Africa. It dislikes dense forest, preferring deciduous woodland and savanna. Any broad-leaved woodland in which there are tall trees, especially dead trees, is optimum habitat for this woodpecker.

Voice

Sounds of Bearded Woodpecker

Diet

It mainly forages in trees, tapping and probing branches in search of insects, licking them up with its barbed tongue. The following food items have been recorded in its diet: beetle larvae and pupae, Mopane emperor moth larvae, termite, spiders, lizards.

Reproduction

 Both sexes excavate the nest, which is usually a oval-shaped hole in the trunk of a tree, although it has been recorded nesting in fence posts. Here It lays 1-3 eggs, which are incubated by both sexes, for roughly 13 days. The chicks are cared for by both parents, leaving the nest at about 27 days old. The juveniles become fully independent roughly 1-2 months after fledging.

Did you know?

Because woodpeckers beat on trees with their powerful beaks to collect food, to construct their nests and to communicate with each other, they have evolved a number of anatomical features to prevent brain damage from repeated blows to their heads. These include small brain size, the orientation of the brain within the skull, which maximizes the contact area between the brain and the skull to keep it from rattling around inside the head. Additionally, in that millisecond before contact with wood, a thickened nictitating membrane closes, protecting the eyes from flying debris. Even their nostrils are protected; they are often slit-like and have special bristles that cover them.

Photos by others

Credits

Biodiversity Explorer