Green nudge | Facts & Information

Origin

It is a common woodpecker especially in deciduous forests in low and hilly areas but we can also see it in isolated patches of trees or in city parks. He prefers old trees where he can dig his hole for the nest.

It is part of the order Piciformes and the family Picidae. It can be found under the English name: green Woodpecker.

Read Also the flight of birds

Green Nudge Feed

The green Gherkin feeds very often on the ground where it looks for ants. It can consume up to two thousand ants per day.

When he finds an anthill, he sits next to it for an hour and greedily swallows all the ants that come out.

Although we can say that ants are the favorite food, the ghionoaia does not refuse almost any kind of insects.

It catches various insects, sometimes it also hunts small reptiles. When she is scared or in danger, she quickly flies to the nearest tree and always climbs up, as all woodpeckers do.

Features Green Nudge

The green Ghionoaia has a length of about 30 cm and the general color is yellowish-green, with the crest and nape red and black on the cheeks.

In the male we can observe a red line on the cheeks as an extension of the beak. The body conformation is specific to woodpeckers, with strong beaks and talons and a hard tail to lean on when roaming through trees.

The wingspan is 40-42 cm and the weight is 180-220 g.

It is distinguished from the Sura ghionoaia by its larger size, more intense green, more red on the crest (in both sexes), also with more black on the cheeks.

Skittish and cautious. Undulating flight, with long stages, with a strong noise of the wings, the silhouette presenting a rather thin neck. It is voluble and noisy in spring and autumn.

Spring, the territorial cry that replaces darabana, consists of an extensive series of full sounds, like a kind of laughter: "chi-chi-chi-chi", decreasing in tonality and accelerating towards the end; it is produced by both sexes; duets can also be heard.

The flight cry is sharp, short and vehement "chiuchiuchiu" or short "chiu-chiuc". The alarm cry is more muted "chiachiachia". Chickens demand food with a jarring cry, like an emery rubbed against Wood.

It rarely beats darabana; darabana lasts longer than the large mottled woodpecker, but is surprisingly weak for such a large woodpecker.

See also bird mating

Breeding Green Nudge

For nesting he usually uses the hollows existing in old trees, but he arranges them by hollowing out the soft and rotten wood with his beak. The nest can be completed by the male and female in about 14 days. In addition to nesting hollows, these birds also prepare sleeping hollows.

The female lays five or six white eggs, which are then hatched by both partners for 20 days. Then the chicks come out that at first are naked, they will have feathers only after 21 days. Puppies will be protected and fed by both parents. After they start flying, the family breaks up.

The green snout is a sedentary bird. There is also a subspecies called Picus viridis sharpei that is not known to live in Romania.

This subspecies is specific to the Iberian Peninsula. As a distinguishing sign we can mention the lack of black coloration around the eyes and shades of Gray on the head.