Template:POTD/2020-05-25
The Japanese pygmy woodpecker (Yungipicus kizuki) is a species of woodpecker native to coniferous and deciduous forests in Russia, China, North Korea, South Korea and Japan. With a length of about 140 mm (5.5 in), its plumage is a dark greyish-brown, barred and blotched with white, with pale brown, streaked underparts. The male has a small red mark on the side of its nape, which the female lacks. It usually occurs in pairs or mixed-species foraging flocks, searching on trees for invertebrates, such as spiders, caterpillars, ants and aphids, and berries. Breeding takes place in the spring, with the nest being in a hole excavated in a dead branch.
This picture shows a Japanese pygmy woodpecker photographed in Sakai, in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.Photograph credit: Laitche
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