Rufous Woodpecker

[Roopak Gangadharan]

This bird has an intresting symbiotic relationship with Crematogaster ants. The ants which form a main item on the woodpeckers diet help the bird in nesting. The ant nest is about the size of a football, and the woodpecker will make an opening in the side of the nest and will carve out a six-inch-wide chamber in the center of the nest. While this is going on, the ants do not attack the woodpecker even though some ant larvae are killed as the nest is being built. Once the bird has laid its eggs, it will not eat any of the ants of this colony nor will it allow any other woodpeckers to do so. It is also the only bird from india to feature in the legendary David Attenborough’s ‘Life of Birds’ series where this nesting process is shown.

EOS 500D & 55-250
250MM, AE, ISO-100, F8, 1/250

This is a big crop and am a monkey with the camera. im sure you guy will help me get better.

Roopak

[Mrudul Godbole]

Nice perch and eye contact. I think you can crop a bit from the bottom and a bit more space on the right would enhance the image further.

Very interesting behaviour. Thanks for sharing and making all of us aware of it. Look forward to more.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Roopak,
Good information. I was not aware about this. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Praveen Siddannavar]

Thanks for the info, it is really interesting
tfs

[Atul Dhamankar]

Very good shot.

[Jitendra Katre]

good image and nice info..thanks!

[Bibhav Behera]

The V of the branches frames the bird well. Nice behaviour explained in the text. Thanks for sharing.

[Mohan Raj]

Roopak, good photo and information. TFS.