From far away, you may recognize the woodpecker for the distinctive racket it makes. However, when you take a closer look, you'll find that the woodpecker has a few other tricks up its bill that make it interesting and unique.
Something Wild: Woodpeckers
Air date: November 19, 2004
Welcome to this week?s edition of Something Wild. I?m Rosemary Conroy for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
New England is home to several varieties of woodpeckers, although most of them are easy to overlook. Which is too bad, as they are quite unusual birds.
Our two most common species, the downy and hairy woodpecker, are small black and white birds that will feast on any suet you put out along with your bird-seed.
While they are snacking, see if you can notice some of the unique adaptations that make them woodpeckers. For example, they easily can creep up and down tree trunks thanks to having two toes that point forward and two backwards. Most birds have three toes in front and only one in back.
Their short, stiff tail feathers help brace woodpeckers against tree trunks while they excavate nest holes or pry insects loose from beneath the bark.
And if you look really close, you?ll see that the birds have dense whiskers around their beaks ? those act as protective eye-wear to keep woodchips from getting in their eyes.
But the weirdest thing about woodpeckers, in my opinion, is their unusually long tongue. It?s so long that it actually wraps around inside their skulls when not being used to excavate insects. Not coincidentally, their tongue also provides a cushion for their brain when they are pecking wood. And if you have ever watched a woodpecker peck wood, you?ll know that a brain cushion is a good thing!
The Pileated woodpecker is another year-round member of this interesting tribe and shares many of its characteristics. Unlike the others, however, this crow-sized bird is hard to miss with its brilliant red crest, dramatic white under-wings and wild, raucus call.
Interestingly, two more southern species of woodpeckers ? the red-bellied and red-headed woodpeckers ? appear to be moving north into New Hampshire. So soon you?ll have even more chances to appreciate this charming family of birds.
Something Wild is a joint production of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, NHPR, and NH Audubon.
For Something Wild, I?m Rosemary Conroy.
