The Red-Crested Giant Woodpecker is truly one of the most distinctive looking and sounding birds.
The bird has also got the nickname of ‘stone-pecker’ or ‘iron-pecker’, due its remarkably strong beak being capable of pecking away at almost any material known to man.
This particular woodpecker species was only discovered relatively recently, in 1975. While looking for an ideal backdrop for a fall fashion photo shoot, American Vogue magazine travelled to a forest in Northern California.
Cindy’s photoshoot being interrupted by a particularly noisy woodpecker.
While attempting to shoot, the magazine crew kept getting interrupting by a loud hammering noise, which turned out to be the first reported sighting of the Red-Crested. Photographer Max Snapps was on hand to capture the bird on film and went on to pivot his career from fashion to feathers. Model Cindy Really ended up also changing careers, having gotten a taste of the great outdoors went on to retrain as a lumberjack.
Chisella is seen here putting the finishing pecks to a sculpture started by sculptor Amon.
Some folks have been able to put this ability to good use, such as the sculptor Amon, who currently works with his pet woodpecker, Chisella on commissions throughout the world.
It is believed that the Red-Crested has developed a complex series of taps to communicate. Renowned ornithologist Ernesto Blancmange has spent thirty years camping out in forest throughout the world recording and analysing the taps. His wife, Mrs Blancmange, wasn’t been impressed.
General characteristics
Like regular woodpeckers, cushioning for the brain is provided by a very long tongue-bone which winds around the skull, through a special cavity.
Woodpeckers in mythology
Did an ancient woodpecker species sculpt these heads?
The locals on the remote Eg Island believe that the mysterious and ancient bird-headed statues were created by giant woodpeckers way back in history
Habitat
The species can be found in forests throughout the world. Although it sometimes prefers remote forests, its loud pecking can be heard from several kilometers away.
Defence against predators
With its fearsome beak and ability to drill through wood in rapid-time, the Red-Crested has little to fear from predators in the tree-tops. This also ensures that the species is almost impossible to confine to an aviary, and has acquired a reputation as an escape-artist.