Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The pileated woodpecker makes large, almost rectangular holes in trees. It uses these for nesting and roosting, as well as to expose insects that live in old wood. The bird uses its sharp bill to pull bark off trees in order to expose ant colonies. The pileated woodpecker has a long, sticky tongue, which it uses to poke in holes, and drag out ants. Sometimes, when a dead tree is quite full of holes, it's hard to tell whether the holes were made by a pileated woodpecker, flicker, woodpecker or other creature, altogether.  The term "long tongue" has also been applied to figures found in the art of ancient China and various cultures of the Pacific Rim and South and Central America.

Further Evidence, Mar. 14, 2010
Copyright © 2010 Paul D. Natkin, All Rights Reserved

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