A woodpecker is a bird which gets its name as it pecks the wood of trees, looking for insects to eat. The woodpecker is a great help to the trees because quite often, the insects and worms are harmful for the trees. These grubs and insects remain hidden deep in the crevices of the bark of trees. The woodpecker can find them instinctively even when they cannot be seen outside. Then he drills a deep hole and straight gets down to them. Sometimes woodpeckers make two openings, like a front and back door. This is to enable them to get away if an enemy shows up.
The woodpecker has a chisel-like beak which can drill holes into dead or unhealthy trees. The structure of the head and neck of a woodpecker is adapted for driving its beak powerfully forward into the tree bark and absorbing the shock of the blow. It then uses its long tongue to capture and eat worms and insects. They can bore holes in the trees. Most woodpeckers nest in large holes that they dig in the branches or tree trunks.
A woodpecker is a member of the family picidae. There are 24 species of wood-peckers found in North America. These include the flickers and sapsuckers. The downy woodpecker can grow upto a length of 14 cm. The pileated woodpecker, found in the Eastern and North-Western United States and in parts of Canada, often reaches a length of 34 cm. The pileated woodpecker chisels large, deep, oblong holes into tree trunks.
The European green woodpecker is green with red crown and yellow rump. The greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers are the British species. They have black, red and white plumage. There are about 210 species of woodpeckers worldwide except in Australia.