Description
The Black Woodpecker measures 45 to 55 cm (18 to 22 in) long with a 64 to 84 cm (25 to 33 in) wingspan. Body weight is approximately 250 to 400 g (8.8 to 14 oz) on average. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 22.7 to 26 cm (8.9 to 10 in), the tail is 15.9 to 17.3 cm (6.3 to 6.8 in), the very long bill is 5 to 6.7 cm (2.0 to 2.6 in) and the tarsus is 3.6 to 4 cm (1.4 to 1.6 in). It is easily the largest woodpecker in its range and is second in size only to the Great Slaty Woodpecker amongst the woodpecker species certain to exist. The plumage of this crow-sized woodpecker is entirely black apart from a red crown. In males, the entire crown is red, but in females only the top hindcrown is red with the rest of the body all black. The juvenile Black Woodpecker is similar but is less glossy, with a duller red crown and a paler grey throat and bill . The piercing yellow eyes and manic, high-pitched calls of the black woodpecker have made it the villain of fairy tales throughout its range. Their voice is remarkable in that it has two different calls. One is a short single high-pitched note, a loud, whistling kree-kree-kree, done only twice in a row. The other is a screech-like shrill while in flight. Unlike other woodpecker species, the Black Woodpecker does not have a dipping, bounding flight but instead flies with slow, unsteady-seeming wing beats with its head raised.
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