Woodpecker holes in beech
| Title | Info |
|---|---|
| Common name | Woodpecker, Pileated |
| Scientific name | Dryocopus pileatus |
| Taxonomic group | Picidae |
| Source | Dan L. Perlman |
| Ecosystems | Forests |
| Forests | Temperate deciduous forest |
| Nutrient cycles | Decomposition |
| Ecological interactions | Predation; Herbivory |
| Selection and adaptations | Selection |
| Selection | Morphology |
| Change over time | Decomposition |
| Organisms | Animals |
| Animals | Birds |
| Date | 2002 |
| Location | Massachusetts,USA,North America |
Pileated woodpecker holes in live beech, Massachusetts. Pileated woodpeckers, the largest woodpeckers in North America, leave very distinct calling cards: fist-sized holes. The holes in this image were carved into a living tree, pecked bit by bit by one of these crow-sized woodpeckers. These birds clearly put a massive effort into excavating insect larvae from the tree, but no amount of effort would achieve these results unless natural selection had finely honed their anatomy and physiology to enable such a lifestyle. As a result of their work, the woodpeckers turn a living tree into wood chips on the forest floor, where they will decompose in a fraction of the time it would have taken them had the tree remained whole.
