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Birdchick Blog: Downy Displays In Ohio

Monday, October 20, 2008

Downy Displays In Ohio

So, while birding at Funk in Ohio, I noticed a couple of downy woodpeckers hopping/chasing each other. The two males were swinging their heads back and forth and giving each other the hairy eyeball (or would that be the downy eyeball--ha ha, I crack myself up). I went to BNA and sure enough found this as an explanation for their behavior: "Both sexes use similar threat displays: tail fanned, crest raised, bill held high and waved back and forth jerkily as if dueling with an invisible foe with a sword. Crest-raising identifies sex, exaggerates size, and reflects aggression."

BNA also mentions, "Wing Flicking—a rapid slight extension and raising of the wings is a mild threat display that with increased intensity becomes the Wing Spreading Display."

There was a third male that wanted in on the action, but he was doing his display well away from the other two--Fierce!

1 Comments:

Blogger Dick - RBB Systems Founder said...

Sorry I missed you in Ohio. I have been a fan of you blog for about 4 months now and really enjoy your posts. Funk is only about 10 miles from where I live in Holmes county and I have been to Funk several times, but for some reason not much this year. The area was flooded out this spring. There is also good birding nearby in the Shreve Swamp area....
Hope to get to meet you the next time you are in the area.

10/21/2008 5:55 PM  

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