A Strange Woodpecker

Nice pics Gus.

The common or green woodpecker is common around here.

Black one I never saw..probably night camoflauge

Gustav Ratzenhofer! I can't believe you have that book! It's one of my holy grails, well actually it's my husband's holy grail - he's the birder. I'm being serious here (for a change). I don't imagine you might have an extra copy to sell. It's certainly out of print, even extensive web searchs have yet to nab me a copy. I am woodpecker green with envy.

I don't know much about woodpeckers, but there is the possibility of sexual dimorphism, Phoenix. Perhaps, it was a female green woodpecker.

and what does it matter about toothpaste?

Huh?

I don't think it was a woodpecker. I think it was a woodcock.

I've just been watching a green woodpecker in my back garden. He flitted between tree trunk and the grass several times, made a few half hearted pecks, then suddenly without obvious reason flew off like a guided missile.

More text in the article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060316/ap_on_sc/woodpecker_question

"Experts Argue Over Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Thu Mar 16, 2:13 PM ET


WASHINGTON - Was it or was it not an ivory-billed woodpecker? Experts are still arguing a year later, while bird fanciers flock to the part of Arkansas where the bird in question was said to have been seen and heard.

The issue takes wing again in the Friday's issue of the journal Science, with one set of researchers arguing that the bird videotaped last year was probably a common pileated woodpecker and another group stoutly defending the identification as an ivory-bill."

Could it have been Picoides pubescens Phoenix?

That's a tremendous woody.

A Hawaiian Woodpecker and a Canadian woodpecker were
arguing about which place had the toughest trees. The
Hawaiian woodpecker said that they had a tree that no
woodpecker could peck. The Canadian woodpecker
challenged him and promptly pecked a hole in the tree
with no problem.

The Hawaiian woodpecker was in awe.

The Canadian woodpecker then challenged the Hawaiian
woodpecker to peck a Canadian tree that was
absolutely unpeckable. The Hawaiian woodpecker
expressed confidence that he could do it and accepted
the challenge.

After flying to Canada, the Hawaiian woodpecker
successfully pecked the tree with no problem.

The two woodpeckers were now confused. How is it that
the Canadian woodpecker was able to peck the Hawaiian
tree and the Hawaiian woodpecker was able to peck the
Canadian tree when neither one was able to peck the
tree in their own country?

After much woodpeckering, they both came to the same
conclusion:










Your pecker is always harder when you're away from
home.