Syrian Woodpecker

Name: Syrian Woodpecker
Latin Name: Dendrocopos syriacus
Family: Picidaa
Order: Piciformes

Characteristics:

Habitat: Wide leafy trees with trunks exceeding 25 cm in diameter: Olive trees, Tabor Oak forests, parks and gardens in towns, orchards, and Carob trees. Also looks for food on evergreens but does not nest in them.

Food: Arthropods, mainly insects, also fatty seeds, primarily walnuts and almonds. Notable among the birds of Israel for its ability to move vertically on a tree trunk. It surveys the bark while climbing, knocking with its beak, locating prey by the sound the insect makes when moving under the bark. When it locates an insect, it hits the bark strongly, exposes the insect and pulls it out with its long tongue. Walnuts and almonds are cracked at a fixed "shelling station": an indentation in which it can wedge the fruit and bang on it. Underneath these stations a lot of shells accumulate, and various birds visit the place to feed on the crumbs: Sparrows, Chaffinches, Yellow-vented Bulbul, Great Tits and others

Distribution: Originally a Middle Eastern species. In the last 100 years it has expanded its distribution: it reached Istanbul in 1860, Bulgaria in 1890, Hungary in 1939, and Australia in 1951

Distribution in Israel: Common in the north and center of the country, in gardens and parks, in Carob and Tabor Oak woodlands, in olive groves and anywhere where there are trees. It extends as far south as Beersheba.

Location of the Nest: The nest is dug in the trunk or a thick branch, and is over 20 cm across. The pairs can breed in an old nest, but they often carve a new one. Most of the better nests are in margosa trees, casuarina, pecan, carob, eucalyptus, berry bushes and locust acacias, at a height of 1.5 m to 6 m above the ground. Often, a number of nesting holes are found in one tree, testifying to woodpeckers breeding there over a long period. The male is the main carver. The entrance is 4-5 cm in diameter. From the entrance, a burrow extends toward the center of the trunk, and after 10-15 cm it widens and turns downward. This section is 25-40 cm long and 7-11 cm across. There is no lining in the nest, other than wood shavings.

Egges and Incubation: Four eggs are usually laid. The egg is elliptical, white and shiny. It measures 19x26 mm and weighs 5.4 g. Incubation begins when laying is completed. Both members of the pair incubate equally during the day, and at night only the male does. Incubation lasts 11 days