Thats a female of white-naped woodpecker. I imagine squirrel must be hiding nuts somewhere close and he was trying to sho the bird away :)). This was fun to watch. Thanks for sharing this beautiful sequence. Regards Pankaj
On Oct 6, 12:45 pm, Prashant awale <pkaw...@gmail.com> wrote: > Wow, Thats really great. Good that you captured this nice drama from yr > backyard and showed it to us. Good narration as well... > Thanks Raghu ji... > Regards > Prashant > > > > > > > > On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 6:35 AM, Balkar Arya <balkara...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Nice Story with Pics Raghu Ji > > > On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 12:59 AM, Dinesh Valke <dinesh.va...@gmail.com>wrote: > > >> ... thoroughly enjoyed the drama, Raghu ji. > >> Nice photos too. > >> Regards. > >> Dinesh > > >> On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 12:32 AM, raghu ananth <raghu_...@yahoo.com>wrote: > > >>> * Drama in my backyard – a woodpecker’s search for food atop a mango > >>> tree and an inquisitive audience! ** * > > >>> This time, mom hollered from the backyard and said “Some new bird has > >>> landed on the mango tree. It looks beautiful. Come take a look”.**** > > >>> ** ** > > >>> To my surprise, it was a white-naped woodpecker - *Chrysocolaptes > >>> festivus,* which I had seen once earlier. Moments after spotting me, it > >>> gave a loud call and flew close to the bottom of another small mango tree > >>> stump, climbed up and after ensuring that it was safe from whatsoever > >>> threats, started pecking on an already cut/ marked portion in the bark. > >>> I brought my camera and this time I asked my mom to go ahead and I > >>> followed cautiously. The trick worked as the bird just watched for a few > >>> seconds and continued its work and I started clicking. (I have noticed > >>> many > >>> common birds that have strayed into the backyard like the hoopoe, tailor > >>> bird, sparrows, koel and sunbirds coming very close, just a feet or two > >>> next > >>> to my mom. But I seem like a stranger to them and a slight action on my > >>> part > >>> is enough to have them scurrying away with a cry of alarm.)**** > > >>> **** > > >>> Soon, the noise aroused the curiosity of a furred mammal which came close > >>> to the woodpecker, but one sharp peck from its beak sent the intruder > >>> scampering away, only for it to return and peep at the woodpecker from a > >>> respectable distance. **** > > >>> ** ** > > >>> Once, a woodpecker continued its rap-a-tap-tap noise on the bark of the > >>> mango tree with its chisel-like bill, making a mark from top to bottom and > >>> then again to the top right, as if drawing out a heart.**** > > >>> ** ** > > >>> ** ** > > >>> It took less than three minutes for the wood pecker to remove a small > >>> portion of the bark of the mango tree, eat some insects/worms and fly > >>> away. > >>> I could see nothing what it ate. But there were small holes under the > >>> bark. > >>> After the exit of the wood pecker, the squirrel came to check and spent > >>> all > >>> its time sniffing and licking at the place, where moments earlier the > >>> woodpecker had been busy at work.**** > > >>> ** ** > > >>> It took me years to learn that the continuous firing sounds in the > >>> wilderness which resembled a gun being fired, was thanks to these > >>> woodpeckers boring into hollow wood for insects. The alarm calls too are a > >>> quick burst of sounds. During trips to my village, I normally see them on > >>> many of the Ficus species (Banyan –Ficus bengalensis , Ficus.Mysorensis, > >>> F.racemosa, coconut, areca and acacia trees making their way from the > >>> bottom of the tree to the topmost branches invisible for some time and > >>> then > >>> flying away **** > > >>> ** ** > > >>> ** ** > > >>> Photo date : 20 Nov 2009, Time 1:00PM to 1:09PM**** > > >>> Krishnaraja nagar, Mysore District, Karnataka**** > > >>> ** ** > > >>> Note: This Mango tree stump no longer exists > > >>> Regards > > >>> Raghu > > >>> **** > > > -- > > Regards > > > Dr Balkar Singh > > Head, Deptt. of Botany and Biotechnology > > Arya P G College, Panipat > > Haryana-132103 > > 09416262964
