Black woodpecker

The black woodpecker is the largest European climber with a body length of up to 47 cm. It is a black bird with red markings on its head and a whitish eye. Red characters indicate the gender of each individual. The male has the red top of the head up to the beak, while the female has only the back of the top of the head red. Massive claws with two fingers pointing backwards are perfect for climbing trees. The fixed tail feathers then serve as a support when climbing. The strong and sharp beak allows it to be carved into the wood of trees.
With a long sticky tongue, he then pulls the insect and its larvae out of the corridors in the wood. It is therefore an insectivore that feeds mainly on wood-destroying beetles and their larvae. But the black woodpecker likes to enjoy ants. Unlike the green woodpecker, which digs them more in the meadow, the woodpecker prefers forest ants.
It inhabits mostly continuous forests, namely coniferous, mixed and deciduous with heavier trees. They dig into the trees nesting cavities usually higher than 8 meters and only on smooth trunks without branches. The most common are the cavities of woodpecker in beech, fir and pine. But it also does not despise dry alder as in this case.
The cavity is usually cut by a male and the female sometimes helps him. It is used for several years. However, some couples carve a new cavity every year. Females lay 3-5 eggs once a year on which both parents sit for about two weeks. It is interesting that only a male always sits on the eggs at night. The black woodpecker chicks fly out of the nest after about four weeks. They roam around the nest cavity for one to two months and then their parents drive them out of their territory. Cavities that are not reoccupied by woodpeckers serve several other bird species. They are used, for example, by the stock dove or the boreal owl.
The black woodpecker is a permanent bird. It inhabits Europe outside the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula, Asia to Kamchatka and northern Japan.
And finally, one big secret of black woodpeckers. The majority of the black woodpecker population, about 80 percent, has a black spot on the front pupil. It varies in shape and size for each individual. The pupil thus does not appear to be round, but has a more elongated shape towards the front. Because the vast majority of black woodpeckers have this spot, it probably brings some evolutionary advantage. However, we still have to wait to reveal the function of this phenomenon.

[@knutfugl]

Good Sunday, my friend. This was truly a pleasure. Congrats with this beautiful movie.
Wish you a pleasant new week.
Best regards, Knut.

[@BIRDWORLD1]

Thank you very much and I wish you a pleasant rest of the weekend :-) Tony

[@knutfugl]

@@BIRDWORLD1
Thank you Tony.

[@dolyt1]

Fuj😂

[@BIRDWORLD1]

?