Chirps and Cheeps

A Plethora and a Pileated

Published: March 18, 2011
Tags: My Feeders, Pileated Woodpecker, tongue, Audubon, bark butter

Oh, I just LOVE Pileated Woodpeckers! They're marvelously and magnificently made! A female came by again today and indulged in some of our bark butter. I was mesmerized when I realized she was flicking her tongue at the bark of the tree! I never noticed that before. I looked it up in my Audubon Guide - and sure enough, I wasn't seeing things - these unique birds have very long, sticky tongues. And wow, they're FAST! I tried to catch a photo of her tongue, and one does show a short extension of it, but it doesn't do it it justice - it's really LONG!

A plethora of other visitors showed up today - so a great birding day from my kitchen window all-in-all!

Female Pileated Woodpecker

It's not in good focus, but you can still see her tongue either coming in or going out

Beautiful Blue Jay - he or she was gathering seeds like crazy. I don't think they eat them right away - I think they gather them in their mouth and then eat later.