Talking with a Pale-billed Woodpecker

Originally posted 5/15/10 - backdated to organize posts by topic.

Back in November of last year, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (CLO) released this fascinating 10+ minute video entitled Talking with a Pale-billed Woodpecker. One of several excellent bird videos by CLO, it is available in 1080p HD (you may need to adjust your settings to see it in HD) and takes you on a hike through a Costa Rican rain forest in search of the Pale-billed Woodpecker. Researchers Martjan Lammertink and Chris Saker utilized a wooden box especially designed to simulate the double-knock sound that Pale-billed Woodpeckers and other members of the Campephilus genus use as a communication signal.

Watch how the bird rewards their efforts to draw it closer to them using the double-knocker by flying into the area and then doing its own series of double-knocks in response to what it has heard. It's also quite nice to be able to watch a male Pale-billed Woodpecker emerge from its roost in the beautiful forest in Costa Rica at dawn (all in HD video, so great viewed at full screen size), without having to get up that early!