Woodpeckers are predominantly arboreal. The amazing abilities that this bird possesses allowed it to be known as a forest doctor. Indeed, none of the forest birds helps in forestry as much as the woodpecker.
Insects and their larvae cause irreparable harm to the forest. Weevils, bark beetles and longhorn beetles hide in the depths of wood and under the bark of trees, causing and destroying plant diseases. Only a woodpecker can get to the pests and save the tree. At the same time, a healthy tree does not damage the woodpecker. Whether a plant needs "sanitary" help, he determines by tapping it. It begins to hammer the tree from below with its beak, and, clinging to the bark with its claws, rises up around the trunk. The bird does not leave the tree until it cleans it of the pests, or makes sure that it is not affected by them. After the woodpecker knocks on the tree, the frightened larvae begin to move, trying to escape. The bird hears these movements with sensitive ears, and in the right place begins to break off the bark or gouge the larva out of the wood. The tongue of the woodpecker is moistened with sticky saliva and protrudes far from the beak directly into the tree holes, where the larvae and insects easily stick to it. In addition to "treating" trees, woodpeckers help many birds to survive in the forest, leaving their hollows for them after they hatch their chicks. The bird always covers their bottom with the smallest wood shavings, thus arranging a bedding and insulating the hollow. In the former woodpecker nests, about thirty species of forest birds, including small owls and tree ducks, find shelter for themselves. The woodpecker's labor is very productive, and in a short period of time he does a tremendous job. The woodpecker's beak moves at a speed of seven meters per second during chiselling, so one blow is made in one thousandth of a second. This is helped by very strong neck muscles, and the porosity of the woodpecker's skull bones softens the blow, which protects the bird's brain from concussion. About 800 insect pests are destroyed by one individual per day.
