Greater and lesser spotted woodpecker. Spotted woodpecker bird

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In Moscow it is considered a rare species.

In Maryino and Brateevo, woodpeckers are seen in clearings with tall trees away from walking paths.

It was observed all year round at the bend of the Moscow River, in the ravine at the mouth of the Plintovka River.

Order: Woodpeckers

Family: Woodpeckers

Genus: Three-toed woodpeckers

Species: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

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A little bigger than a sparrow. Lives in leafy trees and groves along the banks.

The smallest representative of the woodpecker family in Europe and western Asia.

Inhabits deciduous and mixed forests, often damp and swampy, river valleys, parks with an abundance of mature trees.

Often, especially in winter, found in old parks settlements, including large ones. Sedentary, nomadic bird in winter.

Larger in size than a sparrow - body length 15–16 cm, weight 20–30 g. The top of the neck and the front of the back, wings and tail are black, the forehead, cheeks, back, transverse stripes on the wings and on the side feathers of the tail and the entire underside of the body are white.

Belly with sparse dark streaks. The male has a red top of the head, while the female has a black top. The undertail, unlike many woodpeckers, does not have red tones.

Inhabits deciduous and mixed forests, preferring floodplains and swamps. It stays in trees, climbing branches and rarely trunks. Hammers less often than other woodpeckers.

Makes hollows in rotten wood - both in trunks and in large branches, at very different heights, from the ground itself (often in stumps) to a height of 10–12 m. The diameter of the hole is 32–38 mm, the depth of the hollow is 10–20 cm , diameter 10–12 cm. There is no nesting litter.

The clutch contains 5–9 white eggs with shiny shells; the chicks hatch naked. When adults discover a person near the nest, they immediately start screaming, but usually they soon calm down and tolerate the observer not far from the nest.

It feeds only on insects. Mainly longhorned beetles, bark beetles, and carpenter ants. It feeds mainly on thin trunks and branches.

Very mobile, constantly moving from place to place. It feeds mainly on insects - caterpillars, aphids, ants, and larvae hidden under the bark in winter. Reproduction in April-June, clutch of 3-8 white eggs.

One of the smallest woodpeckers with a relatively short beak: only slightly larger than a house sparrow. Length 14-16 cm, wingspan 28-30 cm. Weight of the subspecies hortorum 16-25 g, comminutus - 18-22, minor - 16-26 g. The color of the plumage has much in common with other small woodpeckers from the genera Dendrocopos and Picoides, standing out first just a predominance of black and white tones.

The back of the head and upper back, as well as the wings, are black with white transverse stripes, the middle part of the back and belly are white or whitish with dark markings. In some subspecies, the underparts may have a slight buffy tint. Unlike the big spotted woodpecker, the black transverse stripe on the cheek does not reach the back of the head, but is interrupted by a white spot.

The undertail, unlike many other woodpeckers, does not have red and pinkish tones. The male's cap is red with a black border, the female's is white, brownish or ocher-white. Juveniles have the same color pattern as adults, but the black parts of the plumage have a brownish tint. The iris is brownish-red, the beak is grayish-black, the legs are greenish-gray.

An active bird, more often found on lateral branches and thin twigs than on trunks. It usually does not stay on one tree for more than a minute, and hammers relatively rarely. The flight is undulating with deep lunges.

During incubation, it remains secretive, but at other times it is quite noisy. The mating song is similar to the song of the whirlwind (with the same plaintive intonation, but more distinct and less nasal), and also vaguely resembles the voice of a kestrel - a series of monotonous high-pitched calls “kii-kii-kii...”, consisting of 8-20 relatively long syllables.

When making them, the bird sits on one of its favorite trees and constantly turns its head, sending the sound in different directions.

This demonstrative behavior is more typical of songbirds than of pileated woodpeckers, although the sounds themselves do not differ in sound from a more common call. The calling signal itself is monosyllabic - usually transmitted as a quiet “kick”, “tick”, “tchik”, etc. - as a rule, weaker than that of the great spotted woodpecker, but generally similar to it.

Woodpeckers begin drumming in early spring, but reach their greatest intensity in April and the first half of May. Males and females knock, often knocking against each other. The shot is not loud and is more likely to be characterized as crackling than chirping, monotonous, lasting 1.2-1.8 seconds and interruptions of 3-5 seconds. Compared to the Great Spotted Woodpecker, the shot is longer, but not as sonorous.

Lives in northern Africa, Europe and the adjacent islands, the Caucasus, Asia Minor and western Iran, Siberia (except for the northern taiga), reaching east to North Korea, Primorye, Sakhalin and Kamchatka.

In Africa, the distribution area is limited to wooded areas of the Tell Atlas ranges in northeastern Algeria and northwestern Tunisia. In Western Europe, it is represented over most of the territory, with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula (where it is found sporadically) and the adjacent areas of southern France, Scotland, Ireland and the Mediterranean islands (a small population is present only in the south of Sardinia).

It has been breeding in Denmark since the 1960s, but winter time was common there before. In Scandinavia it is found north to the 70th parallel, on the Kola Peninsula north to the 69th parallel, between the White Sea and the Urals north to the 67th parallel.

In Turkey, it is distributed only in mountainous areas along the coasts of the Mediterranean and Black Seas; to the east it is found on the slopes of the Greater Caucasus, in Transcaucasia and the mountains in northern Iran. IN Eastern Europe distributed south to the steppe zone - the upper reaches of the Ingul and Ingulets, the environs of Dnepropetrovsk, the Voronezh region and the Saratov region.

In Siberia it lives along the entire length from west to east, in the north reaching Salekhard (on the Ob), the mouth of Nadym, Turukhansk (on the Yenisei), the middle reaches of the Lower Tunguska, the 61st parallel on the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. The southern border of the range passes through northern Kazakhstan, the Black Irtysh and Urungu basins, Khangai, the Toly valley, Khentei, the southern slopes of the Greater Khingag, southern Heilongjiang and the Korean Peninsula.

Inhabits low-trunk deciduous and mixed forests of northern and temperate latitudes. It prefers moist alder-birch banks of reservoirs rich in dead wood, swampy areas of forest on the outskirts of raised bogs, and forest stands flooded with water. It is also found in mature gardens and parks of populated areas, including such large ones as St. Petersburg.

Avoids dry forest and areas of dark coniferous taiga. In North Africa, it lives exclusively in oak forests, mainly dominated by cork oak. In Europe, as a rule, it does not rise above 850 m above sea level. In the Caucasus it occurs up to 1400-2000 m, in Altai up to 1700 m, in Mongolia up to 1400 m, in Africa up to 1300 m above sea level.

Traditionally considered a monogamous bird, a study conducted in Sweden showed that about 10% of females tend to cohabit with several males at the same time, and about 3% of males are polygynous. The spring awakening of woodpeckers, expressed in drumming and regular screams, is noticeable already at the end of February or early March, but reaches its apogee in April and the first half of May.

Demonstrative poses of woodpeckers include fluffed wings and tail, fluttering like a butterfly and soaring with raised wings. In Central Europe and central Russia, birds begin breeding in the second half of April, in Tunisia 2 weeks later, in Scandinavia 3 weeks later.

The most northern populations begin nesting in late May or early June. The nest is made in the hollow of a dry, rotten deciduous tree, often alder or birch, but also willow, aspen, maple, ash, and oak. Unlike larger woodpeckers, small woodpeckers can hollow out a hollow not only in the trunk, but also on the side branches. The height of the nest usually does not exceed 8 m from the ground surface, but can be up to 20 m, which is generally not typical for pileated woodpeckers.

In other cases, the hollow may be located in a windfall stump very low above the ground. The hollow is always fresh, the male and female work on its arrangement for 2-4 weeks, with the male doing most of the work. The depth of the hollow is 10-20 cm, the diameter is 10-12 cm, the diameter of the hole is 32-38 mm. There is no nesting litter, the bottom is covered only with wood dust.

The clutch contains 3-8 (usually 5-6) white eggs with a smooth shiny shell. If the original clutch is lost, the female lays again. Egg dimensions: (17-22) x (13-16) mm. Incubation begins with the last egg and lasts 10-12 days (according to other sources, 14 days. Both members of the pair incubate, but more of the male; at night, only he is in the nest. The chicks are born synchronously, any fluff is initially absent Both parents feed the offspring.

According to G.P. Dementyev and N.A. Gladkov, in the Ilmensky Nature Reserve, a male flew up to a nest with food 22 times within 80 minutes. The chicks in the nest are very noisy, and when approaching a person’s nest, adults also scream, but usually they soon calm down. Fledglings appear 18-21 days after hatching (rarely up to 23 days); in the Leningrad region they can be found already in the first ten days of June. Flying broods very quickly break up and disperse.

Aphids are an important component of woodpecker nutrition

The basis of nutrition consists of small insects. During the breeding season, it eats caterpillars, aphids, ants, beetles and other crawling invertebrates, including flies sitting on branches, some spiders and even small snails. Chicks are often fed stoneflies, psyllids, and flies.

In winter, it looks for bark beetle larvae and other wood-feeding insects hiding under the bark of trees. In the second half of summer, it eats the fruits of some plants: pears, plums, raspberries, currants, but the volume of plant food as a percentage is insignificant.

As a rule, it forages alone, but in winter it is occasionally found in the company of tits. It rarely descends to the surface of the ground, but more often than other woodpeckers it feeds on branches and thin horizontal twigs, examining the surfaces of leaves.

Rarely catches insects in flight. Gives particular preference deciduous trees with soft wood - rowan and aspen. Splits thick dry stems of umbrella grasses and examines weed bushes. During the feeding period, the chicks usually do not move further than 100-200 m from the nest.

There are from 10 to 19 subspecies of the lesser spotted woodpecker. Variability is expressed in overall sizes, in the ratio of dark and light tones in the plumage of the upper side of the body, in the nature of the plumage pattern, in the shades of the main background of the lower side of the body.

The guide to the birds of the world lists 11 subspecies of this bird:

Northern Europe from Scandinavia east to the Ural ridge and the Volga-Ural interfluve, south to the western and northwestern coast of the Black Sea, the upper reaches of the Ingul and Ingulets, the Dnepropetrovsk region, the Voronezh region, the Saratov region.

From the Ural ridge and the Volga-Ural interfluve east to the Kolyma ridge, the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the area where the Shilka flows into the Amur and the Nyukzha valley, to the south in the Ural valley to 49° N. sh., to the valley of the middle reaches of Ilek, in northern Kazakhstan to 52° N. sh., to the valleys of the Black Irtysh and Urungu, Khangai, Tola Valley, Khentei, Stanovoy Range.

Primorye, the basin of the lower reaches of the Amur west to the Nyukzhi valley and the area where the Shilka flows into the Amur, Sakhalin, Hokkaido.

Central and southern regions of Great Britain.

From France east to Poland, south to Switzerland, Hungary and northern Romania.

Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Italy east to Romania, Bulgaria and northern Greece.

North Africa (northeastern Algeria, northwestern Tunisia).

Greece, Türkiye.

Greater Caucasus and Transcaucasia (with the exception of Talysh).

Talysh and adjacent areas of the Lenkoran Lowland.

Northwestern Iran, Zagros Mountains.

Not a single forest can do without this bird. The loud and rhythmic sounds of a woodpecker's shot are heard throughout the entire area, this is especially noticeable in the spring. If you look closely at the trees, you can see it. This bird is not a shy one and sometimes flies to “make some noise” in gardens, trees under windows or telegraph poles. She is very remarkable and bright, it is impossible to confuse her with anyone else. But the species of woodpeckers may not be distinguishable at first glance. The Great Spotted Woodpecker is especially common in our country. Let's look at it in more detail.

Great spotted woodpecker: description

The fact that this bird is generally difficult to confuse with anyone is due primarily to its specific appearance and the method of obtaining food. The Great Spotted Woodpecker is often compared in size to the thrush; they are approximately the same. Its body length on average ranges from 22 to 27 centimeters; females are usually smaller than males. The weight of the bird is small - only 60-100 grams. It is not for nothing that the Great Spotted Woodpecker received such a name, as it has a very bright, contrasting plumage color in black and white and red (and sometimes pink) undertail.

Males and females can be distinguished by the color of the back of the head. All young individuals have a red cap on their heads; it disappears with age. remains on the back of the head only in males. The top of the head becomes black. The bird's cheeks, forehead, and belly are white; depending on the habitat, their shade can vary from bright and clean to beige or almost brown. The Great Spotted Woodpecker has a very decent wingspan, reaching almost half a meter (42-47 centimeters). It is also worth noting the shape of the tail. It is pointed (wedge-shaped) and has a medium length; very rigid, as it plays the role of support when the bird moves on its feet, typical for woodpeckers - zygodactyl, that is, the two front fingers are opposed to the two back ones. The average bird is about 9 years old.

Great Spotted Woodpecker: Habitat

This is a very common bird with a wide habitat - from the Canary Islands to Kamchatka and Japan. Most often, birds lead a sedentary lifestyle, less often - a nomadic one. The latter is mainly associated with habitats that are unfavorable in terms of food supply, so birds are forced to migrate (invasion) to neighboring regions. The Great Spotted Woodpecker (photo can be seen in the article) is very undemanding about its place of residence and takes root almost anywhere where trees grow - from taiga forests to city parks. The surprising thing is that the choice depends not only on the country in which the birds live, but even on the regions. Thus, in Siberia and the Urals, the woodpecker chooses coniferous and mixed forests, but with a predominance of pine trees, and in the north-west of the country it prefers pine forests and spruce forests.

What does a woodpecker eat in summer?

Many people still remember from school about the so-called wolf and woodpecker. The bird prefers to settle in forests where there are many old and rotten trees. Woodpeckers have a very varied diet. The predominance of plant or animal food in it depends on the season. It is noteworthy that males and females obtain food for themselves in different territories, and sometimes even in separate forests. The spring-summer diet mainly consists of insects and their larvae. First of all, these are, of course, various beetles, including those that feed on wood, as well as their larvae: longhorned beetles, bark beetles, stag beetles, weevils, ladybugs, golden beetles. The Great Spotted Woodpecker makes 130 beats per minute with its bill. This is quite a powerful force; not a single bug or worm will go unnoticed. The bird's diet also includes butterflies, including hairy ones, their caterpillars, aphids, and ants. The Great Spotted Woodpecker does not disdain carrion if given the opportunity. It was also found that sometimes these birds destroy the nests of small songbirds.

What do woodpeckers eat in autumn and winter?

In the autumn-winter period, plant foods predominate. These include seeds of coniferous trees, acorns, and nuts. Of interest is the method of extracting seeds from a cone. It is characteristic of all woodpeckers, but this type brought it to perfection. Initially, the woodpecker picks a cone, then carries it in its beak to a pre-selected place - an anvil, which is essentially a clamp or crevice in the upper part of a tree trunk. The bird hits the cone with all its force with its beak, and then starts eating - pecking off the scales and extracting the seeds. One Great Spotted Woodpecker can keep about 50 of these anvils, but usually uses two or three. Therefore, at the end of winter, a whole pile of cones and scales can accumulate under one tree.

When is mating season for woodpeckers?

These birds are characterized by monogamy. They reach sexual maturity by the end of the first year of their life. It is noteworthy that couples can remain together after the end of the mating season until next spring. Or they break up and spend the winter separately, but the next year they reunite.

The behavior of birds during the mating season is very remarkable. Its first signs appear in late February - early March and continue increasing until the middle of the first spring month. The birds begin to choose a mate. Males are extremely noisy, talk loudly and scream aggressively. Females respond to them, but less noticeably. Around mid-May, when the pairs have already decided, nest construction begins.

Woodpecker nesting

The tree in which the hollow will be located is chosen by the male. It should not be rotten, but with soft wood (for example, aspen or alder, less often oak or birch, larch).

The Great Spotted Woodpecker (photo above), living in deciduous forests, prefers to make a new hollow every year. If its habitat is dense conifers, then the bird returns to its old state. The hollow, as a rule, is located at a height of up to eight meters and has a depth of about 25-35 cm, and a diameter of approximately 10. Construction is mainly carried out by the male, and the female only sometimes replaces it; it takes up to two weeks. Woodpeckers lay eggs in mid-spring, around the end of April. The clutch contains from 5 to 7 small white, glossy eggs. Both parents take part in incubation, but at night only the male does. The chicks hatch naked, helpless and blind at 10-12 days.

Lesser and Greater Spotted Woodpecker: differences

• By the nature of the color of the plumage. In the small species, the transverse black stripe on the cheek does not reach the back of the head and is interrupted by a white spot. In addition, it does not have pink or reddish undertails. But the little woodpecker has a cap on its head - red with a black border for males and white for females.
• The Great Spotted Woodpecker and the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker are different by the nature of the sounds produced. In the first type, the fraction is very short and lasts about 0.6 seconds, includes 12-13 beats, but it is almost impossible to distinguish them, since they merge into one continuous sound. In addition, it quickly loses its sonority, starts loudly, but quickly fades away. The Great Spotted Woodpecker makes 130 beats per minute, its beat can sometimes be heard at a distance of up to one and a half kilometers. The sounds made by the lesser woodpecker are more similar to the voice of songbirds, they are more drawn out. And his fraction is also longer, but not as sonorous as that of the first type, lasting on average 1.5 seconds.
• Lesser Spotted Woodpecker somewhat smaller in size, its length is approximately 14-15 centimeters.
• They differ in their preferences for choosing a habitat. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker prefers deciduous and mixed forests, the banks of ponds, and swamps. Tries to avoid dark conifers.

Does the woodpecker have enemies?

It would seem that such a bird fundamentally cannot have enemies, because, possessing a powerful beak, it can easily stand up for itself. But in reality everything is somewhat different. Data on attacks on woodpeckers birds of prey although they are few, they still exist. They are mainly endangered by sparrowhawks, goshawks, and in flat areas - peregrine falcons.

Of the terrestrial predators, it is worth noting the marten and ermine. Even woodpecker nests, which are seemingly hidden and protected, are sometimes subject to destruction by squirrels, dormouse and (a type of bat). It happens that woodpeckers are forced out of old hollows by starlings.

Adaptation of the woodpecker to environmental conditions

Almost all animals and birds have a certain set of characteristics that arose as a result of adaptation to factors in the external world. The Great Spotted Woodpecker is no exception. The features of adaptation to the environment are given below.

• Tenacious claws on the paws help to easily hold on to a tree trunk or thin branches.
• The hard, wedge-shaped tail prevents sliding down the trunk; it is better suited for climbing trees than for flying.
• The long, strong beak helps to pierce the bark of trees and make hollows in them for nesting, as well as to obtain food.
• The long, thin and sticky tongue helps to get insects from the most inaccessible places.

General characteristics and field characteristics

One of the smallest woodpeckers of the fauna of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia: body length 161-175 mm, wingspan 288-300 mm. The general coloring consists of a combination of white and dark areas of the plumage; on the underside of the body, unlike other woodpeckers of the genus Dendrocopos, it is not red

A very active bird, it often feeds, like tits, hanging down with its back on thin terminal branches of trees. Often, in search of food, it examines large herbaceous plants, and at the same time behaves very trustingly, allowing people within 1-2 m. During the nesting and pre-nesting periods, it is noisy. In the spring it drums very actively, usually perching on tree trunks for this purpose. The shot of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is longer and more even than that of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker. In general character it is closest to the drumming of the white-backed woodpecker.

In addition to drumming, which is characteristic of birds of both sexes, several other types of signals are distinguished. Most of them are based on the same syllable “ki” or “kii-i”. The most typical indicative signal sounds in the form of a loud, somewhat plaintive series of cries, in which one syllable is clearly distinguishable from another: “kii-kii-kii...”. The territorial signal is very similar to it. These types of calls are most often heard in the fall and early spring. In case of alarm, woodpeckers emit a cry that sounds continuously for a minute or more - “kikikiki...”, then increasing in strength, then subsiding. There are several more types of signals that differ in strength, tone and situational relevance.

The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is well distinguished from all other pileated woodpeckers living in the central regions of Eastern Europe by its small size - almost twice as small as all woodpeckers - and by the details of its coloring, especially its head. The front part of the head of male Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers is bright red, while that of females is white. The color of the head of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker also differs well from both the Lesser and Greater Pileated Woodpeckers, which are close to it in size.

Description

Coloring. Adult male. The forehead is light brownish, the head is bright red on top, slightly mottled with white, since the feathers at the base have a white transverse stripe. The back of the head and upper back are black. The sides of the head and the stripe above the eye are white. Cheeks brownish. A fairly wide black stripe runs from the mandible to the shoulders. The middle of the back is white, sometimes with black spots or with more or less clearly defined transverse striping. The rump is black. The two central pairs of tail feathers are black. The outermost ones are white, with one or two black transverse stripes, the base of the inner fan is black. On the second pair of tail feathers, the dark base occupies almost half of the inner web; on the white part of the web, there is a transverse dark stripe or a slightly noticeable black spot. The third tail is black, only the tip of the inner web and about a third of the length of the outer web are white. The throat, crop and belly are dirty white. On the sides of the body there are weakly expressed longitudinal streaks. The primaries are black with rather large white spots on the inner and outer webs. The secondaries are black, with white transverse spots. The underside of the wing is white. The upper wing coverts are black. The beak is grayish-black, the legs are greenish-gray, the iris is red-brown.

The adult female is similar in color to the male and differs from him in the color of the head: the upper side to the crown is white, without red.

Juveniles are similar in color to adults. The underside of the body is somewhat dirtier and more significantly dotted with longitudinal dark stripes; black color the plumage is more brownish. The first primary flight wave is longer and wider. The sex of young birds varies similarly to that of adult birds.

Structure and dimensions

Wing formula: IV-V-III-VI (sometimes V-IV). Body dimensions and weight are presented in Table 31.

Table 31. Sizes of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Options	Males			Females
	n	lim	x	n	lim	x
Wing length (mm)	33	85-97	92,2	27	83-97	92,4
Wing length (mm)	25	92-100	95,3	20	93-100	96,7
Tail length(mm)	32	53-62	59,5	27	53-62	58,9
Tail length(mm)	22	59-69	63,0	21	55-72	61,2
Beak length (mm)	32	13,5-17,4	15,8	27	13,5-17,3	15,3
Beak length (mm)	24	14,7-18,1	16,7	20	14,0-17,5	15,9
Shank length (mm)	28	13,7-17,5	15,5	21	13,5-17,5	15,6
Shank length (mm)	25	14,0-16,6	15,2	21	14,5-16,0	15,3
Body weight (g)	14	22,4-27,5	24,8	10	22,5-27,7	25,3

Shedding

The order of feather changes of the Great Spotted Woodpecker does not differ from other woodpeckers (Prokopov, 1971). The change of feather cover begins at the end of June - beginning of July, i.e. after the nesting period. The helmsmen begin to change later than the flywheels, and finish a little earlier. In some birds, the third and fourth pairs of tail feathers molt at the same time. Some other groups of feathers fall out just as intensively, with the exception of small ones, the change of which extends until the middle and sometimes the end of October.

Subspecies taxonomy

Variability is manifested in the ratio of dark and light colors of the plumage of the upper side of the body, in the nature of the plumage pattern, in the shades of the main background of the lower side of the body and in general dimensions. There are from 10 (Howard, Moore, 1991), 13 (Stepanyan, 1975, 2003; Dickinson, 2003) and 14 (Gladkov, 1951) to 19 (Howard, Moore, 1980) subspecies, of which within former USSR lives 6.

1.Dendrocopos minor minor

Picus minor Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., cd. 10, p. 114, Sweden.

It differs from the subspecies D. t. kamtschatkensis in its darker bottom side body, which often has an ocher tint. The white coloring on the back takes up less space. The white field on the back has a pronounced black transverse pattern. Dark longitudinal streaks on the sides of the chest and abdomen are poorly developed. The black transverse stripes on the tail are more regular than those of D. m. kamtschatkensis.

In the area of ​​the Ural ridge and the Volga-Ural interfluve it intergrades with D. m. kamtschatkensis.

2.Dendrocopos minor kamtschatkensis

Picus kamtschatkensis Malherbe, 1861, Monogr. Picidees, 1, p. 115, tab. 26, fig. 1-3, Okhotsk.

The underparts are lighter, more pure white, rarely with a faint buffy tint; the white coloration on the back occupies more space than in the nominate race. The black transverse pattern on the white field of the back is less developed. Dark longitudinal streaks on the sides of the chest and belly are absent or less developed than in D. m. minor. The black transverse stripes on the tail are less regular than those of D. m. minor. Developed individual variability, especially manifested in varying degrees of development of white coloring on the back.

3.Dendrocopos minor immaculatus

Dendrocopos immaculatus Stejneger, 1884, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 2, p. 98, Kamchatka.

The lightest race. The white color on the upper side of the body occupies the largest space; the white field on the back has no or almost no dark transverse pattern. The underside of the body is pure white, with no dark longitudinal pattern on the sides of the chest and belly.

4.Dendrocopos minor amurensis

Xylocopus minor amurensis Buturlin, 1909, Yearbook Zool. music Academician Nauk, 13, p. 243, lower reaches of the Amur.

The underside of the body is darker than that of D. m. kamtschatkensis and slightly darker than that of D. m. minor. The white field on the back has a developed black transverse pattern. Dark longitudinal streaks on the sides of the chest and belly are more developed than in the nominate race.

In the northern and western reaches distribution intergrading with D. m. kamtschatkensis.

5.Dendrocopos minor colchicus

Xylocopus minor colchicus Buturlin, 1909, Zool Music Yearbook. Academician Nauk, 13, p. 249, Black Sea coast of the North Caucasus, lower Kuban.

The underside of the body is darker than that of D. m. minor, with a clay-gray tint and a well-developed pattern of dark longitudinal streaks on the sides of the chest and belly. The white space on the back is somewhat smaller than that of D. m. minor and with a well-developed pattern of black transverse stripes.

6.Dendrocopos minor quadrifasciatus

Picus minor quadrifasciatus Radde, 1884, Ornis Caucasica, p. 315, pl. 9, fig. 5, Talysh.

The darkest race. The underside of the body is light brown with a developed pattern of dark longitudinal streaks. The white color on the middle upper wing coverts, characteristic of all previous races, is absent. On the white field of the back there is a well-developed black transverse pattern.

Outside Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, the following subspecies are usually recognized: P. m. communitus - Britain (7); R. m. hortorum - Central Europe from France to Romania (8); R. m. buturlini - Southern Europe from Portugal to the Balkans (9); R. m. ledouci - Algeria, Tunisia (10); P. m. danfordi - Asia Minor (11); R. m. morgani - Zagros Mountains, southwestern Iran (12).

Notes on taxonomy

Previously, the species was often allocated to the genus Xylocopos; now this name is sometimes used as a subgeneric name. It is assumed that the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is closely related to the group of woodpeckers, or, conversely, to the North American representatives of the genus (Winkler and Christie, 2002). Subspecies taxonomy is not well developed. The races hispaniae (Spain), jordansi (mountains of Europe), serbicus (Montenegro), wagneri (Romania), hyrcanus (Northern Iran), mongolicus (Mongolia, southern Siberia), nojidoensis (north-eastern Korea), are usually considered invalid. Not all taxonomists recognize the race immaculatus.

Spreading

Nesting area. Eurasia from the Atlantic coast east to the Kolyma Range, south to the Pacific coast; northwestern Africa within the forest areas of the Tel Atlas range (Fig. 94).

Figure 94.
Subspecies: 1 - D. m. minor, 2 - D. m. kamtschatkensis, 3 - D. m. immaculatus, 4 - D. m. amurensis, 5 - D. m. colchicus, 6 - D. m. quadrifasciatus, 7 - D. m. comminutus, 8 - D. m. hortorum, 9 - D. m. buturlini, 10 - R. m. ledouci, 11 - D. m. danfordi, 12 - D. m. Morgani.

Breeds throughout Western Europe to the north in Scandinavia up to 69-70°N. To the south to the Mediterranean coast, the coasts of the Aegean and Marmara seas, the western and northwestern coasts of the Black Sea. On the Iberian Peninsula, the distribution is local. In Great Britain it inhabits Wales and England (Cramp, 1985).

In Southeast Asia, the southern border runs from Lake. Markakol along the Urun-gu valley, Khangai, Tola valley, Kentei, the southern part of the Greater Khingan, Southern Heilongjiang, the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. It also breeds on the island of Hokkaido.

An isolated section of the range is located in Western Asia - from the western coast of Asia Minor east to Elburz, south to the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor. The habitat in this part is not continuous, has a ribbon-like shape and separately located nesting areas (Cramp, 1985).

In Eastern Europe and Northern Asia (Fig. 95), it was noted for nesting in the center of the Kola Peninsula, where it is distributed up to 68°N: its hollows were repeatedly found on the coast of the Kandalaksha Bay (Blagosklonov, 1960), and the woodpecker itself was occasionally noted in Lapland reserve (Vladimirskaya, 1948); mined on the river Pulonga (Malyshevsky, 1962). To the north, in the Teriberka region, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was not recorded (Kishchinsky, 1960). Breeds in the lower reaches of the river. Onega (Korneeva et al., 1984), on the Solovetsky Islands; noted at Nesi (Gladkov, 1951), but later not found there (Spangenberg, Leonovich, 1960). In this area, the modern border of the range runs from the city of Arkhangelsk to the lower reaches of the Pechora (Estafiev, 1977). To the east it nests approximately to the Arctic Circle. In the Ob valley it was recorded nesting near Labyt-nangi (Danilov et al., 1984), at the mouth of the Nadym; in the Yenisei valley north to Angutikha (Syroechkovsky, 1960), to the valley of the middle reaches of the Lower Tunguska, in the Vilyuy basin to the 64th parallel, in the Lena valley to the 63rd parallel (Vorobiev, 1963), on the northern coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to 61 th parallel: r. Khasin, Babushkina Bay (Kishchinsky, 1968).

Figure 95.
a - nesting area, b - insufficiently clarified border of the nesting area, c - flights. Subspecies: 1 - D. m. minor, 2 - D. m. kamtschatkensis, 3 - D. m. immaculatus, 4 - D. m. amurensis, 5 - D. m. colchicus, 6 - D. m. quadrifasciatus.

The southern boundary of the range is not well understood. Breeds in Moldova (Averin, Ganya, 1970). Further to the east it nests in the floodplains of Savranka and Yalanets (Volchanetsky, 1959), in the upper reaches of Ingul and Ingulets, in the area of ​​Dnepropetrovsk, Rostov region: st. Migulinskaya (Petrov, 1965), in the Saratov region. To the east, in the floodplain of the Urals, it nests south to Budarino; flights were also observed further south - in the Ilek floodplain. Not recorded in Kostanay region. Breeds along the right bank of Ishim: p. Bulaevo, Suvorovka, Borovoe, etc., but not south of 52°N; along the right bank of the Irtysh, in the northeast of the Pavlodar region, in the vicinity of Semipalatinsk, in the Kalbinsky Altai, in the vicinity of lake. Markakol (Gavrin, 1970). In Buryatia, Chita and Irkutsk regions south to the Russian state border (Gagina, 1961). Inhabits the entire Ussuri region, Primorye, about. Sakhalin (Vorobiev, 1954; Gizenko, 1955; Panov, 1973).

There are two isolated areas of the range. The first is confined to the Caucasus, occupies the territory from the northern foothills of the Greater Caucasus Range in the Kuban Valley to the south to Turkey and Iran (Averin, Nasimovich, 1938; Tkachenko, 1966; Kuznetsov, 1983). The second site is located on the Kamchatka Peninsula and in the Anadyr basin north to the 65th parallel, west presumably to the eastern foot of the Kolyma Range (Stepanyan, 1975). A vagrant individual was recorded on Shikotan (Gizenko, 1955).

Migrations

In most of its range, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a sedentary species. In the post-breeding period, birds roam quite widely within the nesting area. In some years, infestations of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker are observed in the western regions of the range. In Latvia, for example, they were celebrated in 1970-1973. (Rute, Baumanis, 1986). The invasion of these woodpeckers was especially noticeable in 1962-1963; it covered a significant part of the forest zone of the European part of Russia (Meshkov, Uryadova, 1972) and Western Europe(Andersen-Harild et al, 1966).

During the years of invasion, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is significantly inferior in number to the Great Spotted Woodpecker. For example, in 1962 in the Pskov region in September-October, 354 individuals of the Great Spotted Woodpecker and only 38 of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker were counted from a permanent observation point; in 1963, 243 and 17, respectively (Meshkov, Uryadova, 1972). The reasons for such mass movements of birds are not entirely clear. At least with regard to the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, there is an opinion that the trophic factor is not decisive. It is possible that the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers are involved in the emerging mass movement of the Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Habitat

The nesting sites of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker are mainly confined to floodplain forests: swampy alder forests, floodplain oak forests containing aspens; clumps of aspens and manes of oaks among the birch trees. It adheres to these stations for the most part throughout its entire range. In Belarus, the main nesting sites are urine forests and thickets of large willow trees in river valleys, reed birch forests and alder forests. In the north of the republic it nests in swampy spruce forests with an admixture of birch, in forest burnt areas with rotten birch trunks and stumps, in orchards; in Belovezhskaya Pushcha it is also found on the swampy edges of pine forests (Fedyushin, Dolbik, 1967). In Latvia it settles in sparse deciduous and mixed forests, in old gardens, parks and cemeteries (Strazds, 1983).

In the central regions of the European part of Russia, it readily settles in deciduous and mixed forests growing in floodplains of rivers, forest streams and lakes. Most of all it prefers swampy alder and wet alder-birch forests, rich in dead wood. Just as often it nests in floodplain oak forests and individual clumps of oak forest in floodplains of rivers and along the banks of reservoirs.

In the north-west of the Caucasus in summer time lives throughout the forest belt of the mountains to the upper forest boundary (2,000 m, Averin, Nasimovich, 1938). IN Western Siberia nests in light deciduous forests, forests, birch trees; common in mixed forests and river valleys. Avoids pure tall plantings (Gyngazov, Milovidov, 1977). In Kazakhstan it nests in birch and pine-birch forests. It rises to the mountains in Southwestern Altai along river valleys up to 1700 m (Gavrin, 1970). In Yakutia, it inhabits both mixed forests and river floodplains overgrown with willow and poplar (Vorobiev, 1963); on Sakhalin - old deciduous forests in river floodplains and on mountain slopes, as well as mixed larch-birch forests (Gizenko, 1955).

During non-breeding time, it appears in clean pine forests, orchards in villages and cities; found in floodplains among tall herbaceous plants, as well as in willow thickets.

Number

In most of its range it is a common, scarce species; in some places it can be quite numerous. In Western Estonia, in broad-leaved forests with oak, the nesting density is 0.9 pairs/km2, in a middle-aged birch-broad-leaved forest among an open raised bog - 0.4 pairs/km2 (Vilbaste, 1968); in the Cherkasy region in a broad-leaved forest - 2.7 pairs/km2 (Koval, 1979); in the Dnieper basin in floodplain forests - 2-3, in oak groves and ravine forests - 0.05-1.0, in pine-deciduous forests - 0.6-0.8 pairs/km2 (Mityai, 1984, 1985). In the Belarusian Poozerie the maximum nesting density is 0.5-0.9 pairs/km2 (Dorofeev, 1991).

The number of lesser spotted woodpeckers is quite high in suitable habitats in the Central and Central Black Earth regions. In the Kaluga region, in small-leaved-coniferous forests, its density was 2.5 pairs/km2 (Butyev, 1970); in the Moscow region - 0.4 (Ptushenko, Inozemtsev, 1968); V Ryazan region in floodplain oak forests and swampy alder forests - 8-12; in the Tellerman forest of the Voronezh region in a floodplain oak grove - 12 (Korolkova, 1963); in the Tambov region in an alder forest - 7-7.5, in a mixed forest - 7.5, in a birch-aspen forest - less than 1 pair / km2 (Shchegolev, 1968; 1978). In Karelia (Kivach nature reserve) in the spruce forest - 4.3, in deciduous and mixed forests - 1.8 pairs/km2 (Ivanter, 1962). Common in the Northwestern Caucasus (Averin, Nasimovich, 1938). Few in Bashkortostan: in pine forests- 0.05, in pine-birch forests - 0.1, linden-snowy forests - 0.6, alder-nettle forests - 0.6 pairs/km2 (Chernykh, 1976). In the forests of Central Altai - 0.5, in the forest-steppe - 0.3 pairs/km2 (Ravkin et al., 1985). In the vicinity of the village. Bolshoi Kemchug, Krasnoyarsk Territory, nesting density in the pine-deciduous forest is 0.8 pairs/km2 (Naumov, 1960); in Western Siberia in floodplain willow forests of the middle taiga and aspen forests - 4–7, in floodplain willow forests of the southern taiga of the Ob region - 7, in floodplain mixed forests - 0.25 pairs/km2 (Ravkin, 1978); in Transangarya - 1 pair/km2 (Gibet, Artamoshin, 1977); in the riverine willows. Tom-Chumysh (Salair Ridge) - 0.05 (Chunikhin, 1965); in the floodplain larch forests of the Middle Urals - 5 pairs/km2 (Shilova et al., 1963).

On Sakhalin, the nesting density sometimes reaches 15-20 pairs/km2 (Gizenko, 1955), but according to the research of V.A. Nechaev (1991), these data do not correspond to reality and the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a small bird here (1, rarely 2 pairs per 1 km route). In Southern Primorye (Lazovsky Reserve) in the valley cedar-broad-leaved forest -1.3 pairs/km2 (Laptev, 1986); in the Middle Sikhote-Alin in floodplain broad-leaved forests - 0.9, cedar-broad-leaved forests - 0.9, cedar-broad-leaved forests on low floodplain terraces - 0.8 pairs / km2 (Kuleshova, 1976); in linden-deciduous forests of Sikhote-Alin - 0.1-1.3 pairs/km2 (Nazarenko, 1971); in zap. “Kedrovaya Pad” in black fir-broad-leaved forests - 0.5-0.8, cedar-broad-leaved forests - 0.3, floodplain forests of the lower reaches of rivers - 5, floodplain forests of the upper reaches of rivers - 2.3 pairs / km2 (Panov, 1973; Nazarenko, 1984); in the coniferous-deciduous forests of the Ussuri Nature Reserve - 0.5-4.8 pairs/km2 (Nazarenko, 1984). In the Parapolsky valley in Kamchatka, the nesting density is 3 pairs/km2 (Lobkov, 1983).

In the western part of the range it is very common, although in some countries (Spain, Denmark, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Tunisia, Algeria) it is rare. In England total number estimated at 5,000-10,000 pairs, in France - 1,000-10,000 pairs, in Belgium - about 350 pairs (650 pairs in 1981), in Luxembourg - about 180 pairs, in the Netherlands in 1977 - 1,000-2,500 pairs , in Denmark - less than 10 pairs, in Sweden - 20,000 pairs, in Finland - over 3,000 pairs (Cramp, 1985).

Reproduction

Daily activity, behavior

The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is diurnal and spends the night in hollows, which it sometimes hollows out again, but much more often it uses ready-made hollows for sleeping. Occasionally, it spends the night in wooden artificial nests. During the nesting period it lives in pairs, in the post-breeding period it is mostly solitary. The size of nesting areas is 2-25 hectares (Prokopov, 1969). In winter, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker can often be found in wandering flocks of tits, nuthatches and pikas. In winter, it is more silent and therefore less noticeable than during the nesting period.

Nutrition

The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is quite versatile in its methods of obtaining food. Along with catching and collecting openly living insects on tree trunks and branches, it often obtains food by chiseling. Hunting for insects in the air was occasionally observed.

In summer, the diet is dominated by openly living insects, in autumn and winter - hidden under the bark and in wood. In the food of adult birds in spring and summer, lepidoptera (both caterpillars and adults) are most often found, and beetles and ants are somewhat less common. Among the beetles, xylophages predominate: the larvae of longhorned beetles, golden beetles, bark beetles, etc. In addition to them, woodpeckers eat bugs, aphids, scale insects, leafhoppers, and mosquitoes (Neufeldt, 1958; Korolkova, 1959; 1963). In three stomachs of woodpeckers collected in the Leningrad region, 78.2% of insects belonged to openly living forms (Pospelov, 1963). The stomach contents of a woodpecker caught in June in the Arkhangelsk region consisted of spiders, mosquitoes, click beetles, weevils and several hundred aphids (Sevastyanov, 1959). Various authors have repeatedly emphasized the preference given by small spotted woodpeckers to aphids.

At the end of summer and autumn, according to I.V. Prokofieva (1963), lesser spotted woodpeckers more often eat xylophages (root bugs, longhorned beetle larvae, bark beetles), although they also eat lepidoptera and aphids. Among plant foods, cases of eating acorns, pear fruits, plums, etc. were reported as food (Averin, Ganya, 1970).

In winter, the food of the lesser spotted woodpecker is dominated by insects and their larvae living under the bark or in the upper layers of wood. In Karelia it is mainly Saperda populnea, Ips typographies, Glischrachilus quaripunctatus (Neufeldt, 1958). On Sakhalin in November and February, the main food is the larvae and adult insects of the family. Chrysomelidae, Linastica japana, Phyllodecta striata; Remains of beetles of the family are often found in the stomachs of birds. Ipidae, butterfly caterpillars, remains of flies (Gizenko, 1955). The stomach of a lesser spotted woodpecker, caught at the end of December in the Primorsky Territory, contained 10 larvae of the golden beetle (genus Agrilus) and 2 larvae of the longhorned beetle (Pogonochaerus fasciculatus) (Vorobiev, 1954). In the southern Baikal region, lesser spotted woodpeckers feed on bark beetles, sawflies and pine nuts- and the latter constitute their main food in November (Skryabin, Filonov, 1962).

The chicks are fed mainly by openly living invertebrates and, to a lesser extent, by secretive ones. In the Leningrad region, aphids and psyllids are especially often brought to chicks. In addition to homoptera, which occupy the first place in the diet in terms of quantity, the chicks receive stoneflies, spiders, dipterans, butterflies, caddis flies, and flies. Of the invertebrates obtained by chiselling, the food of the chicks included odorous woodworm caterpillars, longhorned beetle and bark beetle larvae, as well as subbark nematodes (Prokofieva, 1963).

The simultaneous use of xylophages and open-living insects when feeding chicks is apparently typical for the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in other parts of its range. In the Voronezh region, along with moth caterpillars (hairy and winter moths) and leaf rollers, caterpillars and adult noctuids, bluebirds, gypsy moth caterpillars and willow moths, the chicks received ground beetle larvae, adult bark beetles, longhorned beetles, beetles, and click beetles. Adult birds also brought mayflies, spiders, mosquitoes, dipteran larvae and earthworms to the chicks (Korolkova, 1963). In Bashkortostan, the food of chicks is dominated by beetles and their larvae, butterfly caterpillars, and aphids; eating of Ants, terrestrial mollusks, and egg shells remaining after the chicks hatch was noted (Chernykh, Chernyakhovsky, 1980).

The bolus of food brought by adult birds usually contains several dozen small animals. If aphids are brought to chicks, there are up to 250-300 individuals in one portion; woodpeckers bring large specimens of caterpillars one by one. The weight of food portions increases with the age of the chicks: on days 1-4 they weighed 0.05-0.21 g, on days 5-10 - 0.15-0.33, on days 10-15 - 0.15-0.47 and on the 15-20th day - 0.21-1.22 g (Chernykh, Chernyakhovsky, 1980). During one flight, depending on the type of food and its quantity, one or 2-3 chicks are fed. It is possible that the composition of the chicks’ food depends on their age, terrain conditions, weather, etc.

During nesting time, woodpeckers collect food in the nest area; during post-nesting time, in addition to the main biotopes, small spotted woodpeckers can be found feeding in reed thickets, coastal willow forests, pine forests, parks and gardens of cities and villages.

Enemies, unfavorable factors

The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker does not play a significant role in the diets of birds of prey and mammals. As prey, it has been recorded in the food of hawks, small mustelids, buzzards and dormice. Sometimes hollows with clutches or broods are destroyed by pine martens and great spotted woodpeckers (Ivanchev 1991, 1995). One day, Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers abandoned a hollow with nesting eggs because of disturbance from the Rufous Noctules that had settled in the same tree. Due to nesting in rotten stumps or even in fragments of trunks hanging on other trees, hollows sometimes fall to the ground during strong storms with wind and rain. From unfavorable factors the greatest impact is exerted by long-term weather anomalies (cold snaps, frosts, prolonged rains), which retard the growth and development of chicks.

Economic importance, protection

The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker has no direct economic significance. It is believed that in forestry can be beneficial by destroying forest pests. Annually hollowing out hollows plays a significant role in increasing the capacity of land for small hollow-nesting birds: great tit, blue tit, pied flycatcher, etc.

Listed in the Red Books of North Ossetia and Buryatia; In most regions, special protection measures are not provided.

This can be heard far away, because the edges and clearings, huge spaces overgrown with trees, are certainly resounding in this case with rhythmic loud sounds.

With their long, strong and sharp, cone-shaped beaks, these small birds tirelessly beat trees, extracting a wide variety of pine cones from the bark and cutting up cones in the crevices of the trunks with such noise that it is impossible not to hear such sounds. Birds are especially active in spring.

Externally, woodpeckers are also very noticeable, bright and unlike any other creatures. They are distinguished by an impressive skull, the strength of the bones of which is useful for such creatures, whose beak works tirelessly.

The birds live in Europe, are found in Asia and in the northern hot regions. Unpretentious to their living conditions, these birds take root not only in deep taiga forests, but also in gardens and city parks, where they are frequent guests.

They are adapted to the climate of both northern and southern regions. Moreover, it can be found not only in places where trees grow, but even on telegraph poles.

The woodpecker family includes many varieties of birds, where each species has individual sizes, unique characteristics and a corresponding habitat.

A striking example This is the genus of spotted woodpeckers, which includes about 20 species. In accordance with their name, such birds have a variegated, mostly black and white color, distinguished by red, sometimes yellow additions to the plumage that adorn the plumage of the head and some other parts of the body, as can be seen in photo of spotted woodpeckers.

Such birds can often be observed in the coniferous forests of the Urals and where they live among spruce and pine trees. The birds are found over a vast area stretching from California in the west and east to Japan, which includes many countries in Europe and other continents.

Among the species of such birds great spotted woodpecker- a very peculiar creature, approximately the size of . More precisely, the body length of this bird is about 25 cm, and its weight is usually no more than 100 g.

Like their relatives, such birds have a contrasting color and are also distinguished by pink or red undertails. White, beige or slightly brownish feather color is observed on the forehead, cheeks and belly of these birds. The wingspan of the great spotted woodpecker can reach 47 cm.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker much smaller than their counterparts described above. Its length is only 15 cm, and its body weight reaches no more than 25 g. The peculiar “cap” on the head is bordered with black, and the dark areas in the feather plumage of this species of bird are distinguished by a brownish tint.

Character and lifestyle of the spotted woodpecker

These birds live sedentary lives and prefer not to move long distances, but sometimes they are forced, especially in the northern regions, to move to neighboring areas in search of sufficient food.

Woodpeckers prefer a solitary life. Each individual has its own feeding area, and the distribution of its boundaries often gives rise to conflicts between neighbors, with only representatives of the same sex fighting.

But fights can be brutal, and aggressive actions are expressed in blows with sharp beaks, and even wings are used in such brawls. Taking a threatening pose and warning the opponent about the fight, woodpeckers ruffle the feathers on their heads and open their beaks.

These are brave winged creatures, and they do not experience much fear of predators. But they are careful, and possible danger can force them to hide. Woodpeckers prefer not to notice humans, almost always being indifferent to the presence of two-legged observers in the forest.

Unless they lazily move to the opposite side of the trunk, away from prying eyes. But too much interest can make you fly to a quieter place.

For hundreds of years, humans have not particularly threatened this genus of birds. The bird population is quite large and is not in danger of being destroyed. However, some types spotted woodpecker in the Red Book still included.

In particular, over the last decade there has been a significant decline in the number of the common spotted woodpecker. The cause of the problem was the cutting down of oak forests, their favorite habitats. Nature reserves are being created to protect this species of birds.

Pileated woodpecker feeding

In autumn and winter, motley birds actively feed on plant foods rich in a variety of beans. They eat nuts, acorns and seeds of coniferous trees. The process of obtaining food can be very interesting.

Using their beaks with great skill, woodpeckers pick off cones and cut them up on specially prepared anvils, which are natural cracks or artificial clamps hidden in the trunk among the tree crowns.

The big-nosed creatures break the pine cone, sweeping away the husk and eating the seeds. As a result, a very impressive handful of husk waste remains under the tree, which is added and grows every day. This is a sure sign that a woodpecker is operating in the tree. This continues until spring. And with the arrival of warmer weather, when nature comes to life, birds have new sources of food.

If spotted woodpecker knocking on bark, then it is possible that he is looking for a wide variety of people there. , caterpillars, larvae and other small creatures are included in the summer diet of these birds, but only in the warm months, since with the advent of cold weather, bugs and boogers are rarely encountered.

In search of such food, the described birds are ready to examine every crevice in the tree. They start from the bottom of the trunks, gradually moving higher. Most often, they choose old, damaged woody plants, ridding them of pests, for which they are called forest orderlies.

In this work, they are helped not only by their beak, but also by a long (about 4 cm in size) tongue, with which they extract insects from deep crevices and holes they have made in the trunk. In the spring, woodpeckers break through the bark and feed on tree sap.

Reproduction and lifespan of the spotted woodpecker

To procreate, spotted woodpeckers unite in pairs. Despite the monogamy of these birds, such unions can break up at the end of the mating season. But more often than not, the feathered spouses separate in order to unite in pairs next spring, and some still remain to spend the winter together.

By the end of February or at the very beginning of spring, woodpeckers that have reached maturity, which comes at the end of the first year of life, are absorbed in mating efforts. During the period of choosing partners, males behave noisily, actively and scream loudly. But females are usually calmer.

In April, couples begin to build a nest, which is a hollow hollowed out at a height of 10 m from the ground. Such responsible work sometimes lasts more than two weeks, and the male takes the main role in building the nest.

Pictured are woodpecker chicks

At the end of his work, his girlfriend lays very small eggs in the hollow. After about two weeks, blind and naked chicks hatch. Both caring parents are involved in feeding and raising the offspring.

After three weeks, the young are already learning to fly independently, and after the same period of time, the new generation says goodbye to the parental nest, setting off into a world full of difficulties. If young birds are able to adapt and avoid dangers, they will live about 9 years, which is exactly the period nature has allocated for the spotted woodpecker to live.

Appearance and behavior. It looks like a miniature, the size of a sparrow (body length 14–15 cm, wingspan 28–30 cm, weight 20–30 g). The beak is short.

Description. The plumage is motley, black and white. There is no red on the undertail. The top of the male’s head is matte red with a black edging, the female’s forehead and the front of the crown are off-white, the back of the crown is black. Birds from central Russia and adjacent regions have a white lower back without stripes or with black transverse stripes, sometimes very indistinct. The underside of the body is white, cream-colored or brownish. Black longitudinal strokes are expressed to varying degrees on the sides; in some cases they are noticeable only on the sides of the chest, or are absent altogether.

Caucasian lesser spotted woodpeckers ( D.m. colchicus), differing in their smaller sizes, are colored more uniformly than birds of northern populations. Their general coloring is darker, the back has clear black transverse stripes, the white spots on the wings are smaller, the underparts have an even brown coating, and clear black streaks are visible on the sides. There are no seasonal variations in plumage. In young birds, the color of the plumage is duller, with a large number of streaks on the belly, and, like in adult birds, the female, unlike the male, lacks a red spot on the head. It differs from other pileated woodpeckers in its noticeably smaller body size and the absence of red color on the undertail. It also differs from the absence black stripe through the eye.

Voice. The “drum” beat is quiet and even, longer than that of the drum, with frequent repetitions. Performed by both male and female. When mating in the spring, as well as at other times of the year, it emits a series of low, monochromatic calls “ ki-ki-ki..." Contact cry " kick» Quieter than the Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Distribution, status. Distributed very widely in the northern part of the Palaearctic from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. To the north it penetrates to the tree line. Inhabits most European Russia, absent only in treeless areas. Common. Leads a predominantly sedentary lifestyle and can roam widely during the post-nesting period.

Lifestyle. Inhabits deciduous or mixed forests, preferring forest stands with soft wood, especially floodplain ones. It also willingly settles in gardens and parks. More often than other woodpeckers it is found in sparsely forested areas. A nesting hollow with a small-diameter entrance (it is noticeably smaller than that of other woodpeckers) is mainly hollowed out by the male in the trunks or branches of dead trees, giving preference to aspen and alder. Both parents incubate the clutch and feed the chicks. The chicks hatch naked and blind. Breeds offspring once per year.

Very mobile. It lives mainly in the crowns of trees. In winter it is often found in mixed tit flocks. Trusting, he lets you come close. It feeds on both openly living insects (caterpillars, beetles, ants, aphids, etc.) and those living under the bark or in the thickness of wood (beetle larvae). The methods of obtaining food are varied: from simple pecking to chiselling (especially in winter). It beats quietly, but with a high frequency. It can often be seen feeding on the terminal branches of trees and bushes.