Woodpecker at Hampstead

Melanerpes is a genus of woodpeckers of the family Picidae found in Hampstead London, UK.  The Woodpeckers tap an estimated 8,000-12,000 times per day.

Both sexes incubate the clutch of white eggs that takes about 12 day to hatch. An unpaired male my drum on tress as many as 600 times a day, a paired male just 200 times. They also have sock-absorbent tissue between the base of the bill and the skull to cushion the impact of drumming.

The male woodpecker has a patch of scarlet on the back of the neck. Young birds can be easily recognised by their scarlet caps, and lose this as soon as they moult into adult plumage. Both the adult male and female have a black crown, but the male has a red patch at the bottom of his crown. The juveniles crown is red and both sexes have a white check, black facial markings and black bill. Black and white spotted markings and a white area on its shoulder. The black upper body with white under parts and a red patch beneath its tail.

Its song is in fact a drumming sound which it creates by hitting tree branches with its bill.

Pic Maria Celia Salgado