Sunday 28 December 2008

Woodpecker anvil

In this photo a Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major is dealing with a pine-cone wedged in an anvil. An anvil like this is sometimes called a "smithy" or "workshop". An anvil is a place, usually a crevice or hole on a tree, but sometimes in a wall, where a woodpecker wedges a food item which it can then open up.