Saturday, June 15, 2013
Compensation for not going walking
A great spotted woodpecker brought his chick to feed at our peanuts this morning. The chick, fluffed up, looks larger than its parent.
The adult hung awkwardly from the base of the feeder as he's too big to squeeze through the squirrel-proof bars; but he was obviously able to reach in far enough to get some titbits.
I had time to note the washed-out pink of the juvenile's vent compared with the bright scarlet of the adult's; while the juvenile's cap was a darker red than the adult male's nape patch. This juvenile red cap is a trap for the unwary, leading sometimes to the wrong identification of the young bird as a lesser spotted woodpecker.
// posted by Christine @ 2:40 AM 
