Everybody thinks I'm crazy. / Yesiree, that's me, that's me - Woody woodpecker
Know who that is? If you do, then you must be a wise person with years of experience in the world (meaning you must have been born during the period when the show was aired 1940-1972)!
Whenever I see a woodpecker of any species, that is the instant connection in my head - as it happened when I saw this Lesser goldenback woodpecker (Dinopium benghalense) on a particular day of wildlife photography.
For those young Hiveans who are millennials but fan of toons, Woody woodpecker may be known as an iconic character from the Woody woodpecker show, distributed by Universal studios.
Amazing woodpeckers
Most of the woodpeckers have a very flamboyant appearance. They sport a Mohawk like crest in brilliant colors like red, yellow or brown etc. and have contrasting bright colors on the body. In some woodpeckers, if the colors are not bright, they at least have interesting patterns on the body.
These busy birds are a wildlife photographers delight due to the colors and their incessant action
I was, therefore, delighted to find this one looking for breakfast on a palm tree near my home.
Apart from the flamboyant appearance, another interesting fact always attracts me to woodpeckers. You may have seen them hammering away with their beaks at the trees. They drill holes and find worms that are embedded below the bark in the trees. I always wondered how they withstood that shock of impact. Literally it is like banging our head repeatedly on the wall.
I then read that the beak is attached to the skull with a sort of 'spongy' bone that helps absorb the impact.
Lesser goldenback woodpecker is one of the more common ones in my part of the woods. It has a brilliantly red crest, fantastic yellow, almost golden back and a wonderful black-white striped pattern on it's face and neck.
I love the way it looks and poses on tree trunks.
Hope you enjoyed my pics and knowing a little more about woodpeckers in general.
Information about the bird
Name: Lesse goldenback or Black-rumped flameback
Scientific name: Dinopium benghalense
Size: Around 25-30 cm (10-12 inches)
Conservation status: Least concern (IUCN 3.1)
Description (based on e-bird, Wikipedia and my observations):
This woodpecker is mainly found on the Indian sub-continent. It predominantly feeds on beetle larvae embedded in tree-barks but also eats termites and nectar. It has a presence even in urban environments. It has a loud rattling call. It is usually found in pairs and forages in tree canopy and tall tree barks.
Information about photograph
- Aperture: F5.6
- ISO: 640
- Shutter: 1/2500
- Support: Handheld shot
- Camera: Nikon D500
- Lens: Nikkor 200-500mm
- Image format: Photo clicked in RAW and edited for presentation sizing
A big thank you for support
Thanks to c/hive-106444 (Feathered friends community) for providing this wonderful opportunity to present my experience and photographs. Thanks to and
for all the support and encouragement to this community. Special thanks to
also for starting the Species hunt initiative. My posts are not exactly in that format but have all the necessary info and Good original Photos. Further guidance will be very much welcome.
Thanks to HIVE for this wonderful platform. Thanks also to and
for encouraging me by recognizing some of my posts as worthy of Densifying nature project.
Further, thanks to Amazing nature community for welcoming me and showing me their love on some of my posts.
Note: All images and collages in this post are created by me, based on photos clicked by me personally and/or free vector images from Pixabay. Other sources if any are mentioned below each image.
Quotes used, if not credited, are either from unknown authors or are proverbial old sayings.