Woodpecker: Bird that inspired Walter Lantz!
Woodpeckers are part of the Picidae family, members of which are found all over the world, except in Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests, although some species are known to live in treeless areas such as rocky slopes and deserts. Members of this family are mainly known for their characteristic behaviour.
They mainly look for insects trapped in the trunks and branches of trees, and often communicate by tapping their beaks, producing a reverberating sound that can be heard some distance away. Some species vary their diet with fruit, bird eggs, small animals, tree sap, human remains and carrion. The woodpecker was the inspiration of Walter Lantz, the main creator of the animated series of the same name.
According to Walter Lantz's press agent, the idea to create Woodpecker came about during an incident on the cartoonist's wedding night, when an annoying woodpecker spent the whole night pecking at the roof of the chalet they had rented, preventing the couple from sleeping. When the bird left, they discovered that the woodpecker had made a bunch of holes in the roof, through which the rain began to enter, ruining the night once and for all. Walter Lantz's wife then suggested that her husband create an annoying woodpecker to appear in his cartoons.
They are small birds, measuring no more than 7 centimetres in length and weighing 7 grams. There are even large woodpeckers that can be over 50 centimetres long. The largest surviving species is the great shale woodpecker, which weighs 360 to 563 grams, but the extinct imperial woodpecker and ivory-billed woodpecker were probably larger. Most woodpeckers live alone, although there are species of woodpeckers that live in groups.
Solitary woodpeckers are highly aggressive and will defend food resources such as termite colonies or fruit-laden trees, driving away other members of the same species and returning frequently until the resource is exhausted. With its beak, the woodpecker makes holes in the wood and builds the nest, always with the opening facing the ground. They don't take any material into the nest, but use scraps of chopped wood as a mattress. The female lays two to four eggs, which are incubated by both parents. The chicks are born blind and naked. The little woodpeckers quickly develop the ability to peck wood and then to sing.
A woodpecker's nest is therefore noisy due to the constant pecking of the chicks on the tree and the songs of the birds. However, at the slightest sign of danger, they remain absolutely silent, promptly responding to their parents' warning. The warning comes in coded form, such as the sound of a small branch breaking. This makes life difficult for predators, but almost always one chick is predated, usually the weakest. By the time they are five weeks old, they feel more secure and leave the nest.
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