Index – Science – Woodpeckers cruelly kill each other

Even in the world of young children, the kind and helpful wooden doctors are there. In a red sipka, with feverish effort, diseased trees are examined for the sun, for worms. As they heal the forest, they also share important news and help those in need.

However, ornithological researchers have unfortunately not experienced such noble qualities when makkharkályokat studied oak groves from Oregon to Mexico.

More specifically, the clans of woodpeckers

Broken wings, carved eyes, bloody plumage, corpses falling to the ground.

Every now and then, up to forty birds collided over possession of a dead tree or larger logs. The violent skirmish, which lasts up to ten hours, aims to possess and protect rotting “barns” that are rotted by acorns. Peaceful but forward-thinking wooden doctors gather hundreds, if not thousands, of acorns to prepare for the toughest times.

At first, the war seemed like just a strong mass fight. To see through the untraceable cavalcade, the scientists attached tiny radio transmitters to the birds.

The angry woodpecker dreams of acorns

It turned out then that not two teams, but

What is almost incomparable in the animal kingdom, however even in the richest fantasy novels. It’s like, say, twelve armies falling upon each other on the battlefield. Right away. And only one can win.

The hard core of miniclans is made up of two or four woodpeckers. They are reinforced by “helpers,” descendants of previous years who often take on their share of special family tasks for five or six years. They do not breed in the group, they leave the family nest and have to find their own dead woodland habitat and establish a clan.

They are the detonators and maintainers of the eternal struggles for power.

If the nimbus of the red siphons’ bounty hadn’t been completely destroyed by all this, the researchers also noticed another embarrassing phenomenon.

They even enjoy it. Watch.

Masses of staring woodpeckers flock in from the area to watch the bloody carnage. However, they take a great risk by leaving their own castles unattended. However, they fly from a distance of up to three kilometers to the event only to watch the ruthless showdown for an hour. From a considerable distance.

Like some kind of disaster tourist. From a sheltered location, they eagerly watch the deadly mass fight of others. But it is more likely to be a more vital source of information for them. Sooner or later, each acorn woodpecker is forced to war as an occupant of the castle or as a defender of it.

We could say that it is horrible what the adorable heroes of our children’s stories turn out to be. But since we know that songbirds don’t necessarily sing love songs, we’ve been more skeptical of the entire family of birds.

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