Little Spotted Woodpecker. Spotted woodpecker bird

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker from Tatyshev Island.

The encounter with the bird took place on Tatyshev Island within Krasnoyarsk.
The day was frosty, a little windy, but sunny. yatel

Therefore, there were practically no people who wanted to walk around the island on the cable-stayed bridge. But I went with the hope of an interesting meeting - and it happened :)

The bird looked very much like an ordinary bird great woodpecker, but was slightly different in “outfit” and size - it was much smaller in size. At first I even thought it was just a young bird. At first the woodpecker was hiding behind a poplar trunk, but curiosity got the better of him and he looked out for a couple of seconds :)))

PThat made me a little bolder :)

The small woodpecker - Dendrocopos minor - is the size of a sparrow. The coloring pattern is generally the same as that of other pileated woodpeckers, it differs well from them in size, there is no red on the undertail, the back is white with dark markings. The male has a red cap, the female has an ocher or brownish-white cap. Juveniles are colored like adults, but the elements are black with a brown tint; there are more dark strokes on the back. The male can already be distinguished by his red cap, but it (like the young female) is small and with dark blots. Weight 20-32 g, length 16-18, wing 8.9-10.0, span 28-30 cm.

My fingers quickly cooled down in the wind and almost didn’t feel the camera - so I didn’t get any particularly interesting shots and I couldn’t shoot a video, partly for the same reason, and partly because the bird is very mobile and I simply couldn’t keep up with its movements with my numb fingers and the camera: )
Distributed in Eurasia from Portugal and Great Britain to Kamchatka and Korea, almost the entire forest zone, forest-steppe and northern steppes, and in some places forest-tundra.

PTakha flew from tree to tree, collecting insects from the bark of the trunk, branches -
not like its older brother the Great Spotted Woodpecker.

The Lesser Woodpecker lives in deciduous and mixed forests, preferring floodplains and swamps. Woodpeckers make 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. They settle only in freshly hollowed out hollows. They begin to nest early, in the steppe regions - as early as April - May, in the far north of the range - in late May - early June. There are 3-8 white eggs in a clutch, usually 5-6. Their dimensions are 17-22 x 13-16 mm. The male and female incubate the clutch and feed the chicks. The male sits at night. Incubation duration is 14 days. The chicks in the hollow constantly scream.

He found something tasty - this woodpecker does not gouge entire passages with his beak towards the larva in the tree trunk,
but simply collects from the bark everything that is hidden in it for the winter.

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. The young fly out at the age of 3 weeks. The broods very soon break up and the chicks move on to independent life. All year round, the basis of nutrition consists of various insects and spiders that live and hide in the bark and under the bark. Moreover, small woodpeckers willingly search and sand thin branches and bushes that do not attract other woodpeckers. They examine the weeds and crush the thick, dry tubes of umbrella plants. At the end of summer, young birds actively move, and in the fall, adult birds begin to migrate. Lesser woodpeckers spend the winter wandering, more or less moving south. In the north of the range, these migrations have the character of real migrations. In winter they are often found in the steppes south of the breeding range.

Apparently I came across a species of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopos minor kamtschatkensis -

- down side the body is lighter, more pure white, rarely with a faint buffy tint, the white color on the back occupies more space than in minor. The black transverse pattern on the white field of the back is less developed. Dark longitudinal streaks on the sides of the chest and abdomen are absent or less developed. The black transverse stripes on the tail feathers are less regular than on minor. Individual variability is highly developed.

Such meetings make me very happy - when I get to meet a new representative of the feathered community :)

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (DeBdrocopos minor). The smallest of the woodpeckers, the size of a sparrow (body weight 21-25 g). The top of the neck, front of the back, wings, tail are black; forehead, cheeks, lower back, transverse stripes on the wings and on the side tail feathers, the underparts are white. The top of the head is red in the male, black in the female; voice - loud, continuous “ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki”.

This is a rare, sometimes common sedentary, partially nomadic species of predominantly floodplain (willow, aspen or alder) forests. Less common in light deciduous and mixed moist forests on watersheds. During nesting time, this woodpecker is hardly noticeable.

Its density at this time is 0.8-1 individuals per 1 square meter. km. In autumn, the number of small spotted woodpeckers increases to 1-2 individuals per 1 square meter. km. At this time, they often fly into suburban forests, parks, tree and shrub plantations in residential areas of towns and cities.

Woodpeckers appear on nesting sites at the end of March. In April you can often hear the “drum roll”, it is more frequent and quieter than that of the Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Construction of the hollows begins at the end of April. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker makes hollows in dead, rotten and rotten, relatively thin trunks of aspen, alder, birch, and less often willow. The main part of the construction of the hollow is carried out by the male, the female only finishes the inside of the hollow. The height of the hollows from the ground is 0.4-12 m, usually 1-3 m. The hole entrance is usually round in shape with a diameter of 3.2-3.5 cm. The depth of the hollow is 15-17 cm, the width at the entrance level is 10-12 cm. The lining of the hollow - small chips and wood dust.

Laying begins at the end of the first ten days of May and continues until the beginning of June. Most often, the first eggs are laid in the middle of the last ten days of May. A complete clutch consists of 5-8, more often 5-6, white eggs with a noticeable shine. Egg sizes average 19.2 by 14.7 mm. Both parents incubate the clutch for 13-14 days. Hatching of the first chicks occurs in early to mid-June, in late clutches - at the end of the month. Feeding lasts 21 days. Chicks leave the nests in the 20th of June - mid-July. Adults feed the young for another 5 days.

From the first half of July, small spotted woodpeckers begin wide migrations through forests, go to the edges, move through floodplain bushes, and often fly into gardens and on the outskirts of populated areas. They are also found here in winter. The number of small spotted woodpeckers in this period in the forests is up to 1-1.5 individuals per 1 sq. km, and in floodplain forests and forest parks up to 2 individuals per 1 sq. km. In some severe snowy winters, their numbers are very low.

All year round, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker feeds on invertebrates, which it obtains mainly by chiseling tree bark or collecting insects from muddy branches, undergrowth, and shrubs. In winter, the woodpecker often hollows out the hollow stems of thistles and umbellifers, where some invertebrates overwinter. The basis of nutrition consists of larvae of longhorned beetles, bark beetles, weevils, ants, and aphids.

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 to 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.

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 autumn winter period The predominant plant material includes 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.

Dzyatsel are small, ci Dzyatsel stracats are small

The entire territory of Belarus

Woodpecker family - Picidae.

In Belarus, D. m. nests throughout the territory. minor and there are single individuals that are phenotypically similar to the Central European subspecies D. m. hortorum.

Common breeding, sedentary species. It is found throughout the territory, in Polesie - more often than in other areas.

The smallest of our woodpeckers (slightly larger than a sparrow). The top of the male’s head is variegated red, since through the red ends of the feathers of the cap their transverse white bases appear. The forehead is smoky white. Cheeks brownish. Black stripes run from the corner of the mouth along the neck. The front of the back and rump are black, the back half of the back is white with vague transverse brown stripes, sometimes pure white. The abdomen is white with a faint buffy coating (in summer). On the feathers of the chest and sides there are brown streaks, creating longitudinal streaks. The upper wing coverts are black with white tips. The flight feathers are black, with white spots on their inner webs. On the inner secondaries they merge into transverse white stripes. The middle tail ones are black, the rest have white transverse spots of varying sizes. The beak is black and horny. Legs lead-gray. Rainbow is red-brown. Females do not have red plumage on their heads. In winter, the bird looks lighter, the white color is purer. Male weight 17-22 g, female 20-27 g. Body length (both sexes) 13-16 cm, wingspan 26-30 cm.

A very active bird, often flying from tree to tree. Unlike other woodpeckers, it often rests on side branches and even thin branches rather than on trunks. The voice is a frequently repeated trill “ki-ki-ki...”, as well as a one-time cry “kek”.

Prefers deciduous and mixed forests in the floodplains of small and large rivers. It is usually found in birch forests, alder forests and thickets of large willow trees, often in swampy coniferous-deciduous forests, on moist, overgrown with small-leaved trees (alder, birch, aspen) edges of coniferous forests. The favorite habitat is forest, weakened by disease, fire or flood. Therefore, it is found in old burnt areas, in swampy or even flooded deciduous woodlands with a large number of withered trees. There are also cases of nesting in old orchards, in large city parks located on the banks of reservoirs.

The structure of the nesting range of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in the Belarusian Lake District is determined by the distribution of mixed and deciduous forests in the floodplains of forest rivers and lakes, along the banks of swamps. The maximum nesting density is 0.5-0.9 pairs per 1 km². The pattern of distribution in certain natural landscape areas and the size of nesting areas are determined by the high mosaic nature of plantings caused by relief features, soil-hydrological and anthropogenic factors.

During the period of autumn and winter migrations, it often appears in the anthropogenic landscape ( settlements, gardens, parks, roadside plantings) and is often observed at a considerable (up to 10 km) distance from the forest. The number of small spotted woodpeckers increases at this time due to those migrating from the north.

Pairs form in early April and at this time the trill of the males is heard.

The first signs of mating behavior (drum rolls, characteristic calls of woodpeckers) were noted in Poozerie at the end of February, their maximum manifestations were at the end of March - April. The formation of pairs and confinement to nesting areas in lesser woodpeckers in Poozerie is expressed from the second ten days of March.

It nests in separate pairs, in hollows. The hollow is hollowed out by both the male and the female in the trunks, occasionally in the vertical thick branches of rotten and withered deciduous trees, often in rotten stumps, usually at a height of 0.5-7 m, occasionally up to 15 m. In this case, they prefer alder, birch, aspen, and willow . In Poozerie, lesser spotted woodpeckers use black alder – 32.7%, aspen – 30.7%, gray alder – 25.0%, less often birch – 7.7% and willow – 3.8% as nesting trees. The vast majority of residential hollows (88.4%) are confined to dry trees or stumps. Conservatism in relation to nesting trees is weakly expressed.

The entrance is round in shape. There is no nest lining, with the exception of wood dust. The diameter of the hole (lit.) is 3.2-3.6 cm, the depth of the hollow is 15 cm, the width is 10-12 cm.

There are 5-6 eggs in a clutch, often 7, sometimes only 3-4, occasionally 8 eggs. The shell is pure white, shiny. Egg weight 2 g, length 19 mm, diameter 15 mm.

Egg laying begins in late April - mid-May; sometimes in the second half of May. There is one brood per year. Both partners incubate (the male at night) for 13-14 days. Chicks appear in the second half of May - June, leaving the hollow at the age of three weeks; After another week, the brood disintegrates. In Poozerie, chicks hatch from May 16 to June 3, and young ones fly from the nests from June 5 to June 24.

As observations in the south-west of Belarus of 4 woodpecker nests, in which there were 4–5 chicks each, showed, parents bring food 160–250 times a day (in the first and last days feedings – 160–200, in the middle of the period – 210–250 times).

Full annual molting in adults begins in June and ends by November. In young animals, juvenile molting occurs in late June - early July and ends by November.

It feeds on insects, finding them mainly in crevices and cracks in the bark on the side branches of trees. More often than other woodpeckers, it hangs on branches and gets insects that are inaccessible to larger woodpeckers. In this way, the small woodpecker complements the useful work of other woodpeckers, who mainly inspect trunks.

Among the food items, 72 species of insects were noted. During the nesting period, openly living forms of insects dominate, but compared to other woodpeckers specific gravity ants is insignificant and does not exceed 8%. In the post-nesting period, there is a transition to dominance in the diet of xylophages (mainly the larvae of longhorned beetles and bark beetles), gathering under the bark, in thin branches of trees and shrubs, and in the stems of herbaceous plants.

Obtains food by chiseling all year round, completely without stopping hammering even during the nesting period. Places where food is collected and methods of obtaining it are subject to seasonal variability. The main methods of obtaining food - chiseling and collecting openly living insects - are typical from autumn to spring. During the nesting period, it collects food in the branches of trees and bushes. In winter, the most characteristic feature is the specialization of many individuals in preying on the larvae of the small aspen creaker Saperda populnea from the thin branches of willows, aspens and poplars, and the larvae of the mottled flies Tephritidae from the stems of wormwood. Sightings of the lesser woodpecker in thickets of this weed in winter are not uncommon, and traces of its feeding activity can be found on almost 70% of the stems.

The main food of woodpecker chicks is animal: mayflies, lepidoptera, hymenoptera, larvae and adults of bark beetles, leaf beetles, and longhorned beetles. In the first 3-4 days, adult birds feed the chicks with more delicate and smaller food: butterfly caterpillars, aphids, leaf beetle larvae, spiders. Food is collected within a radius of 300-350 m from the nesting hollow. At the age of 2-3 days, chicks receive 22-26 servings of food, at 7-10 days - 33-47; in a 15-17 day period - 52-57 servings per day. During the period of stay in the nest (18-19 days), each chick receives at least 850 servings of food (about 300 g). To feed a brood of 5 chicks, adult birds make more than 4000 flights with food, bringing a total of 1.4-1.6 kg of insects. The male and female feed the chicks with equal intensity, alternately taking breaks to feed themselves. After leaving the hollow, adults continue to feed the flight chicks for a considerable time (up to 3-4 weeks), which begin to feed like adults only after the breakup of the broods with the beginning of wide migrations.