Wednesday, May 5, 2010

P is for Picidae

It is Alphabe-Thursday time again. Our assignment for our wonderful teacher, Jenny Matlock, is the letter "P". As I Perused the veritable cornucopia of "P" Possibilities, I quickly realized that there is quite a broad spectrum of enticing subjects...science, religion, medicine, sexuality...with no shortage of unique words. I have chosen Picidae, the scientific family of woodPeckers and, as you can imagine, I just happen to have some photographs that I took recently.

There are some 200 species of woodPeckers found worldwide, except Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, extreme polar regions, and oceanic islands. The greatest diversity of woodpeckers is found in the tropics. Most members of this family possess strong bills for drilling in tree trunks and long, sticky tongues for food extraction. The have 4-toed, zygodactyl feet. The 1st and 4th toes face forward, the 2nd and 3rd backward, allowing them greater grasping power of tree trunks and limbs. They walk vertically up tree trunks. They have short legs and stiffened tails which further enhance their mobility, and their breeding and signaling behaviors. Members of this family found in East Tennessee and the southeastern U.S. are the red-headed, pileated, common or "yellow-shafted" flicker, red-bellied, downy, and hairy woodpeckers.

I was thrilled recently to wake one morning and find 8 or so common flickers in my front yard. These flickers are primarily ground feeders. I was able to capture two females in an apparent territorial dispute. They faced off, with head and neck raised, and then one would lower its head and raise and shake its tail feathers. It was a remarkable moment for this amateur birder.

The other two pictures are of 19th century, hand-colored engravings. The 3-engraving picture is of 1st Ed. Audubons. The 4-engraving photo shows non-native, tropical species.

They are a favorite family of birds to me. I hope you enjoy...

Peace and blessings...





30 comments:

  1. I find woodpeckers fascinating! I know two are in my yard as they never wake us until Saturday morning! Smart little buggers! But this history was awesome! Thanks for sharing and those birdie chicks in your yard, typical women! LOL! Thanks Anne

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  2. Okay, so I didn't find them so nice when they were always pecking at my house. They are noisy, but they can be a wee bit destructive too, but I agree with you that they are fascinating! Joni

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  3. The pictures are so great! I have never seen one up close before.

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  4. Perfect. Great Pics and Post!

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  5. Great photos and info. We have a couple of different kinds in our woods. We had one of the large ones the first two years we lived here. Every time we would walk down the path it would fly overhead. It looked quite prehistoric in the air.

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  6. Great catch of those beautiful birds! I love woodpeckers, we have one somewhere in our pin oak tree. I have yet to see it, but I hear it - every morning :) The engravings are lovely. Thanks for the informative post, I always learn something new every week! Kathy

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  7. if only we were still on O and you took pictures of Owls you would have stolen my heart.

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  8. Love this post! Great info...I like them except when they find some metal and rat a tat tat on that! Still they are fascinating birds! Thanks Jeff for always sharing something off the beaten path!

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  9. Imagine that, two females having a little tizzy. Birds...humans... not all that different. :-)
    We have flickers all over the place here. The naughty little things keep trying to peck a hole in my downspout! Talk about noisy!!! Forget about trying to sleep in on a Saturday!
    Do you remember a couple of years back when they thought they had found the presumed extinct Ivory Billed woodpeckers in Arkansas?

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  10. Very informative post! If you hadn't identified the birds in your photographs, I would never have thought that they were woodpeckers! My parents had a woodpecker (or should I say that the woodpecker liked part of their house) who showed up regularly to peck with a steady beat. My father patched the pecked hole and the bird never came back!

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  11. Beautiful photos and drawings of woodpeckers! Once again you have written a wonderful entry about nature using an unusual name for something we all think we know everything about, but don't really know much at all.
    Thank you for sharing!
    Best wishes,
    Anna

    http://annasadornments.blogspot.com/2010/05/p-as-in-pearls-abc-wednesday-round-6-p.html

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  12. We have them around here. I hear them but I don't ever see which tree they are on so I don't really know what ours look like.

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  13. What lovely Photos! I always enjoy the time I spend here!

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  14. Hi Jeff,

    Yeah, we have lots of peckers around the farm! Most of the ones that I've seen are red-headed. They will totally destroy a tree...you should see some of the holes they have made in the trees around here!!!

    I love watching birds. Especially all the courting dances they put one!! Ain't they a hoot??

    Thanks for sharing your P with us today.

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  15. How much wood would a woodpecker peck if a woodpecker could peck wood?? Well enough to drive me crazy!! I love your pictures as always!

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  16. What great photos! I too am a fan of the woodpeckers. You have taught me so much about birds, and life and everything in between! I always learn so much for you dear hubby!

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  17. What a great 'P' post & great blog. I'll be popping back to have another read through!
    Happy Alphabe-Thursday - and look forward to *seeing* you again next time!
    Mine’s HERE!

    XOXO LOLA:)

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  18. Up til recently, my only experience with woodpeckers has been watching Woody on TV. However, there's one not far from our yard and it...driving...me...crazy! Well, only when I'm conscious of what's going on. Most of the time I can drown it out. But I swear that is the peckinist woodpecker there ever way!

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  19. I have a flicker who has decided that my metal fireplace flue is his favorite pecking spot. You can hear it all over the valley (which is probably his intention). Outside the house, you can tell what it is, but inside the house it sounds like a jackhammer or jake brake....

    Cute little guys though..

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  20. Great post! I love learning new things, and have always wondered about woodpeckers. We've had quite a few attack our house. Now I'm going to try to figure out what species they are...

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  21. That square-off you captured is magnificent! I loved the whole post. I only catch the occasional glimpse on a tree a bit too far away for a good shot.

    How lucky you are to have them around.

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  22. Wow Mr. C,

    Lucky for you that you were there at just the right time to snap those pictures. They are amazing. Great p post I might add about the friendly woodpecker!!

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  23. Fabulous wildlife photos, you were lucky to be able to sit and enjoy watching them and thanks for sharing with us in the blog world. You might find the postcard party of interest, they have a few different styles with folks from all over.

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  24. I have a very loud woodpecker in my yard everymorning! Thanks for coming by Jeff, you took some fantastic photos!

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  25. Jeff, love your photos. Those are much more colorful then the ones we have around here in Arizona. Love the color banding.

    You always amaze us here, each week!

    I think you are the intellectual star of this meme for certain!

    Another wonderful stop on the Alphabe-Thursday journey, Jeff!

    A+

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  26. Great pics! LOVE birds, even noisy woodpeckers :-)

    Mary

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  27. Jeff, great post. I can always count on you to teach me something new. Thanks! And thanks for the recommendation on the movie. I've not seen Bottle Shock, but will look for it. ~ Sarah

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  28. Oh your photos are lovely. What a wonderful opportunity to "capture" these beautiful creatures. I really like the scientific name for these birds. It suits them better.

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  29. At times they can be a little annoying, but they're beautiful birds.

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  30. I see that I did leave a comment for your P-post- Here is mine again:

    Ann's P-words

    I don't see a comment fron you. But who am I to criticise??

    Hello again!
    Anna

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