Woodpecker Nest

These wide open mouths, however small in real life, look like the gaping holes of enormous monsters searching to devour every man, woman and child not pinned to the ground. The little peckers are ready to pluck the very flesh from your hand so you better come carrying something for them to eat, or else they might just bite you to the bone. There are about 200 species and about 30 genera in the woodpecker family. Many species are threatened or endangered due to loss of habitat or habitat fragmentation. Two species of woodpeckers, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker and the Imperial Woodpecker, have been considered extinct for about 30 years. Overall the woodpeckers are arboreal birds of wooded habitats. They reach their greatest diversity in tropical rainforests, but occur in almost all suitable habitats including woodlands, savannahs, scrublands, bamboo forests. Even grasslands and deserts have been colonised by various species. These habitats are more easily occupied where a small number of trees exist, or, in the case of desert species like the Gila Woodpecker, tall cacti are available for nesting in. A number of species are adapted to spending a portion of their time feeding on the ground, and a very small minority of species have abandoned trees entirely and nest in holes in the ground. The Ground Woodpecker is one such species, inhabiting the rocky and grassy hills of South Africa. This sound uses the following file from Freesound: http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=120650