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average
wing span
2 feet
favorite
food
carpenter ants
scientific
name
Dryocopus pileatus
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Lesson
Plans
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Feathered Lumberjacks of the boreal forest
| During winter and summer, the hammering
sound of the Pileated Woodpecker can be heard throughout
the Boreal
Forest . These amazing birds often have a 2-foot
wing span and are the largest woodpeckers in the Boreal
Forest . We have been seeing and hearing a
lot of Pileated Woodpeckers during the past few days.
Today one was hard at work mining for insects in a near
by tree while we were ice fishing on Willow Lake. They
are able to make huge holes with their beaks as they search
for insects to eat. One Pileated Woodpecker was found
with 2,600 ants in its stomach! Can you imagine eating
2,600 ants! |
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Pileated Woodpeckers stay in the Boreal
Forest throughout the year. While many birds
are heading south for their yearly migration, the Pileated
Woodpeckers are busying themselves searching for carpenter
ants, their favorite food. |
| Most experts think that Pileated Woodpeckers
find the ants by listening for them. Once a colony of
ants has been found, the woodpecker begins pecking a hole
into the tree. Their bill is anchored to their skull by
a very thick bone which allows the birds to peck all day
with out getting head ache. Also strong neck muscles help
to absorb the tremendous force caused by each blow. The
muscles in the woodpecker's neck are so strong that they
can propel the beak into the tree at 15 miles per hour! |
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Seeing these birds in action, seeing the
amazing amount of wood they are able to remove from
a tree has given me a new found appreciation for these
feathered lumberjacks of the Boreal
Forest .
Keep Exploring!
Dave
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