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Remarkable footage captures the moment a red-faced - headed woodpecker evict a starling squat in its nest by jerk it out of a tree trunk .
woodpecker and starling are cavity nesters , meaning they hollow out draw close holes rather than build them from scratch , but starlings often invade other bird ' nests and harry their owners .
Common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are invasive in North America and often occupy the nests of native birds.
When Emily Tornga first spotted the reddish - headed woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus ) , she did n’t realise it was dealing with an unwanted tenant .
" I thought I was watch the woodpecker clear out a nest kettle of fish , but then , much to my surprise , the starling emerge and the conflict you see in the video begin , " Tornga , who co - ground theSparrow Appreciation Society , order Live Science in an electronic mail . " I have never figure anything like this before with this colony of reddened - headed woodpeckers . " Tornga take the encounter and post it onInstagram .
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Common starling ( genus Sturnus vulgaris ) , also known as European starlings , are an invasive species in North America and were first released in New York City ’s Central Park in 1890 by Shakespeare partizan who want to introduce all the bird coinage mention in the playwright ’s employment to America .
A C. W. Post share by Emily ( @the_peck_deck )
A photo post by on
Starlings do n’t shy out from attacking and killing native boo and their babies once they have set their lot on a nest .
" Starlings are a immense problem for red - headed woodpeckers , " Tornga said . " Happy to say the starling moved on after this encounter . "
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scarlet - headed peckerwood arefierce guardian of their territoryand quick to pluck fights with other birds , including brazen starling . Despite this , red - headed woodpecker stand a 54 % decline in universe between 1966 and 2019 , grant to theNorth American Breeding Bird Survey .
One of the primary drivers of this declination is thelimited phone number of suitable treesleft to hollow out nest from , as these trees are being drop . " They nest in dead or dying trees in mature stands of timber , " Tornga said . " Due to land development , these habitats are becoming harder and heavy to come by . "
