Woodpecker

The woodpeckers belong to the family Picidae and the order Piciformes. These birds are one amongst the eight birds falling under the same family and order. Many species are threatened and endangered due to various reasons like habitat loss or habitat fragmentation.

Two species of woodpecker like the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and the Imperial Woodpecker have been categorized as extinct for about 30 years. The quick classification of this Wood pecker is given below:

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Subclass	Neornithes
Order	Piciformes
Family	Picidae

Physical Characteristics:

The Bar-breasted Piculet is the smallest woodpecker weighing 7 g and 8 cm (3– inches) tall. The Great Slaty Woodpecker is considered as the largest woodpecker weighing about 450 g (1 lb) and 50 cm (20 inches) since the two species namely Imperial woodpecker and Ivory-billed woodpecker which are larger than Great slaty woodpecker have gone extinct. The Imperial Woodpecker is at an average of 58 cm (23 inches) tall and weighing about 600 g (1.3 lb). The Ivory-billed Woodpecker weighs about 500 g (1.1 lb) and 50 cm (20 inches) tall.

Many number of species exhibit sexual dimorphism in size, weight and bill length. In the woodpeckers that show sexual dimorphism it is usually the males that are larger. Most wood pecker species possess white, red, black, brown, and green colored plumage. Many woodpecker species render patches of red and yellow on their heads and bellies, and these bright areas are important to aid them in signaling.

The dark areas of plumage often look iridescent. Eventhough the sexes of Picidae species look similiar, many woodpecker species have prominent red or yellow head markings in males than in females.

The woodpeckers have a strong and sharp bill which is strong enough to drill and drum on trees. They possess a long sticky tongue in order to extract food. These species keep their chisel like bill tip sharp by performing pecking action.Most of the breeding, foraging and signaling behaviors of these species involve drumming and hammering using the bill.

Woodpeckers protect their brain from damage due to repeated decelerations by various physical appearances. These species possess small brain which would maximize the gap between the skull and brain thereby reducing the contact between the brain and skull.

Their eyes are protected by a special thickened noctitating membrane. The nostrils are protected by a slit and special feathers which cover them. They consist of a Zygodactyl foot which has four toes, the first (hallux) and the fourth face backward and the second and third face forward. This foot arrangement aids them in grabbing trunks of trees. The tail and feet work together to support when the woodpecker walks vertically.

Behaviour:

The woodpecker species are either solitary or live in groups. The species which live in group tend to be communal group breeders in general. We could find some species forming mixed-species feeding flocks with other insectivorous birds. This helps them to reduce the anti-predator vigilance and increase their feeding rate. In general, Woodpeckers are diurnal, roosting at night inside the holes. Most of the species use the roost as nest during the breeding season.

Habitat:

The woodpecker species are mainly cosmopolitan and are disturbed all over India. Most of these species inhabit forest and woodland areas. Few other species of woodpecker prefer living in areas such as deserts and on hillsides, where the trees are absent. Such species would build their nest in holes available in rocks and in plants such as cacti. They can also be seen in other habitats like woodlands, scrublands, savannahs and bamboo forests.

The diet of woodpeckers majorly consists of insects and their grubs found on living and dead trees, and other arthropods, seeds, berries, bugs, fruits and nuts. These species acquire wood-boring grubs using their bills for hammering, but as a whole the family is characterized by its dietary flexibility, with most species being highly omnivorous.

The various insects they feed on are ants, grubs, beetles, termites, caterpillars and spiders. The insects are mainly taken deep from the tree trunks, live or rotten wood, and crevices in the bark of the trees.

They either glean or excavate the wood to obtain the food. Once they complete hammering, they intake the prey by means of their long barbed tongue. Many number of species spend a portion of their time feeding on the ground and nest in holes in the ground.

Places Found:

These species are one of the birds which are commonly found in the Indian subcontinent. Different species of woodpecker are found in various Indian states like West bengal, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and in many other states. Majorly, these species are found in the Wildlife sanctuaries and National parks located in various states of India. The below list consists of 36 out of the 218 species which are found in India.

1. Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla)
2. Speckled Piculet (Picumnus innominatus)
3. White-browed Piculet (Sasia ochracea)
4. Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos nanus)
5. Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos canicapillus)
6. Brown-fronted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos auriceps)
7. Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos macei)
8. Spot-breasted Pied Woodpecker (Dendrocopos analis)

9. Stripe-breasted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos atratus)
10. Common Flameback
11. Yellow-crowned Woodpecker (Dendrocopos mahrattensis)
12. Darjeeling Woodpecker (Dendrocopos darjellensis)
13. Crimson-breasted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos cathpharius)
14. Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
15. Sind Woodpecker (Dendrocopos assimilis)
16. Himalayan Woodpecker (Dendrocopos himalayensis)
17. Rufous Woodpecker (Celeus brachyurus)
18. White-bellied Woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis)
19. Andaman Woodpecker (Dryocopus hodgei)
20. Rufous-bellied Woodpecker (Hypopicus hyperythrus)
21. Lesser Yellownape (Picus chlorolophus)
22. Greater Yellownape (Picus flavinucha)
23. Laced Woodpecker (Picus vittatus)
24. Streak-breasted Woodpecker (Picus viridanus)
25. Streak-throated Woodpecker (Picus xanthopygaeus)
26. Scaly-bellied Woodpecker (Picus squamatus)
27. Grey-faced Woodpecker (Picus canus)
28. Himalayan Flameback (Dinopium shorii)
29. Common Flameback (Dinopium javanense)

30. Black-rumped Flameback (Dinopium benghalense)
31. White-naped Woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes festivus)
32. Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes lucidus)
33. Pale-headed Woodpecker (Gecinulus grantia)
34. Bay Woodpecker (Blythipicus pyrrhotis)
35. Heart-spotted Woodpecker (Hemicircus canente)
36. Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus)

Mating and Nesting:

Woodpeckers make their nests in tree cavities and in absence of trees, they nest inside holes in cactus and a few species nest in holes dug in the ground. Woodpeckers and piculets will excavate their own nests, but wrynecks will not do so. The excavated nest is usually lined using the wood chips and there from the hole is made. Most species of woodpeckers excavate one hole per breeding season. It takes around a month to finish excavating the nest. The unused holes are used by other secondary cavity nesters. This is because nesting holes are in great demand and wood peckers encounter competition with other cavity nesters. Monogamy and polygamy kind of breeding are reported in few species. A woodpecker pair will work together in building the nest, incubate the eggs and raise their young. In most species, the male does the nest excavation, and incubate the eggs during the night times. A nest will usually consist of 3 to 5 round white eggs.The incubation period takes around 11–14 days before the chicks are born. The youngs leave the nest when they are around 20-30 days old.

Threats and Conversation:

Around 200 species of woodpecker world wide are considered to be threatened or endangered birds. The major reasons would be deforestation and because of numerous predators. The deforestation leads the woodpeckers to lose their homes.The predators prey on the woodpeckers and at times its eggs. The predators would include wild cats, foxes, rats, large birds and snakes.

1. An average woodpecker pecks up to 20 pecks per second.
2. They possess an air pocket which forms a cushion between the brain and skull, thus preventing the bird from headache while pecking frequently.
3. Most woodpeckers have four toes. Two face forward and two face backward. This arrangement is called zygodactyl.
4. Their short legs and sharp nails make it easier for them to cling to the bark of the trees.
5. A pair of stiff, centrally located tail feathers allow the bird to "tripod" itself on trees. This facilitates a solid platform from which the woodpecker can strike the tree with its beak. These important feathers are not molted until their replacements have fully grown in.

6. A straight, chisel-like bill is used to excavate holes in trees for nesting and roosting. It is also used for foraging insects, insect eggs and larva.
7. Bristle-like feathers over their nostrils help to keep wood particles from being inhaled.
8. Very long tongues allow the birds to "worm" their way in to hard to reach places. There are hard, saliva coated bristles on the end of the tongue. These aid in grabbing the prey. The tongue can also be used for lapping sap.

Indian Woodpeckers in the Nesting Hole