THIS week, we feature a very interesting and industrious bird in the Highway area, the Golden-tailed Woodpecker.
Description
In the case of this particular species, the name ‘Golden-tailed’ is not a very good identifier as the tail is very similar to that of a number of other woodpeckers! This is a medium-sized woodpecker at 21cm in length and 70g in weight. The male has a red crown and distinct moustache while the female has a faint moustache and dark crown marked red only toward the rear of the head. The sexes are best distinguished by their head markings, as the red-and-brown fore-crowns of males differ from those of females that are black and spotted white. The upper part of the tail is yellowish brown with two of the feather shafts a golden yellow. The back feathers are greenish brown with light blotches, and the underside is light brown with dark brown streaks.
Also read: Chirping with Kloof Conservancy – Bronze Mannikin
In the Highway area, it is difficult to distinguish it from the Cardinal Woodpecker, so look for the roundish blotches on the back, whereas the Cardinal Woodpecker has a very clear barred pattern. Possibly the easiest way to identify this species is to learn its call which is a shrill scream of ‘wheeaa-aaaa’ repeated a few minutes apart.
Distribution
The Golden-tailed Woodpecker is found from Kwa-Zulu Natal northwards, including Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Northwest and Gauteng.
Habitat
This species will only be found in well-forested areas and is very common in well-treed gardens in the Highway area.
Feeding
The Golden-tailed Woodpecker feeds mainly on ants and termites found on decaying wood on trees. It will opportunistically also feed on moth larvae and larvae of woodborers as well as the occasional millipede. They can often be spotted hammering the dead branches with their beaks to loosen bits of the wood and to get to the ants and termites. Interestingly, they have super-long sticky tongues which they put to good use to reach deep into the cracks of the wood and lick up their prey.
Breeding
Before a nest can be built, the Golden-tailed Woodpecker has to excavate a hole in a suitable tree, usually on the underside of a branch. Both adults excavate the nest hole, and the hammering, as they say, can often be heard a few hundred metres away. The nest is built in summer, and sometimes they will use the same nest, but most often, they excavate a new nest each season. Usually, two to three eggs are laid which are incubated for about 13 days by both parents with the male usually doing night duty. The chicks are fed by both parents who regurgitate food for the chicks.
Predators and threats
This species is not threatened and is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Their nests can be parasitised by various species of Honeyguide.
Local information
This species can be found in most gardens in the Highway area. Look for a tree that has dead branches and listen for the tap-tap-tap that is typical of woodpeckers, and you are likely to spot them as they move about looking for food.
Interesting facts
The Golden-tailed Woodpecker, like most woodpeckers, has the area around its nostrils covered with feathers to keep wood splinters out of their nose as they peck. It’s always amazing to watch woodpeckers hammering their heads against a tree, and you wonder why they don’t get a headache! Woodpeckers have a very thick skull, and their bills are designed to spread the shock from the hammering throughout the skull so they do not get headaches! The hammering on the wood is also sometimes used as a communication tool with other woodpeckers, to attract mates and communicate territory.
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