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The bird belongs to the order woodpeckers, the woodpecker family.
External signs
Three-toed woodpeckers are represented by small birds with a body length not exceeding 25 cm, with a weight ranging from 50 to 90 g. The woodpecker has rather large wings with a span of up to 35 cm. The body ends with a short tail that has a wedge shape. The legs of the bird are small in size with three fingers lying on them, two of which have the front direction, and the third looks backwards. The body is covered with hard and thick plumage with a complete lack of fluff.
In the color palette is dominated by black colors, which have a distribution almost throughout the body. However, the body is not devoid of white markings. This species is somewhat different from other similar representatives. For example, the head of this representative is not covered with a bright "red cap".The female on the head can not see the red spots on the back of his head.
The head of the male is characterized by the presence of a “cap” with a lemon-yellow color. On the head of the female a silvery gray color is noted with the presence of dark pestrin.
Power type
Usually the bird is looking for food at a height of 1-3 m from the ground. The dead trees are mainly used, although sometimes the female seeks food for live ones. In spring, they drink juice from trees, and in small quantities there are berries in their diet.
Breeding features
This type refers to the typical monogam. Sexual maturity occurs when the bird is one year old. Interesting is the behavior of males in the mating season. They seek out a dry knock and begin to peck at it with their beak. The result is a characteristic vibrating sound. That he is attractive to females.
Every year for the construction of a new hollow, they choose a tree that has died or has become rotten. This may be a representative of conifers, or deciduous tree, represented by birch, poplar. On the job of forming a hollow, on average, it takes a little more than a week. Usually it is located at a height of 1 to 10 m from the surface of the earth. Famous buildings and with more significant height. Both representatives of the same pair are doing this. The bottom of the hollow is lined with wood dust. It will serve as bedding for eggs that the female will set aside. In total, she will bring them no more than 6 pieces. They are covered in shiny shells. This happens in the middle or in the second half of May. Eggs are hatched for two weeks by both parents. They are able to replace each other 6-7 times a day.
Two weeks later, chicks appear from the eggs.Despite the fact that they are naked, blind and seemingly completely helpless, they already at this time require a large amount of food. Nestlings are very noisy. It takes 4 weeks and the chicks begin to leave the nest. At the same time, they are already making attempts at independent flights. Having learned to fly a little, they still try to keep closer to the “family hearth”. They do not seek to fly far from the hollow, as parents still continue to feed them. In the hollow they will be still a whole month.
Habitat characteristic
A characteristic feature is that the three-toed woodpecker is referred to the orderlies of the forest. It destroys a lot of harmful insects.For this, he uses only sick and dead trees. He will never spoil a completely healthy tree.
Three-toed woodpeckers are silent birds. Compared to other woodpeckers, they have a poorer repertoire. During the mating season, woodpeckers make sounds similar to chirping or chirring. Hammer a tree with the publication of drumming both sexes. By character, it resembles a gunfire.
Video: Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus)
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