Meet the Green Woodpecker, the avian equivalent of an anteater, and the second star of our Birdorable Bonanza 2010. This vibrant bird, with its striking green plumage, offers a fascinating glimpse into the adaptability and ecological niche that birds can occupy.

Green Woodpeckers are a spectacle of nature, primarily found frolicking across the landscapes of Europe and parts of western Asia. Their presence is notably significant in countries like France, Spain, and Germany, where they contribute to over half of their global population. What sets these birds apart is not just their vivid coloration but their unusual feeding habits.

Unlike their wood-boring cousins, Green Woodpeckers have carved out a niche that involves foraging for their food on the ground. Their diet is remarkably specialized, focusing almost exclusively on ants. This peculiar choice of sustenance has earned them the nickname "avian anteaters." They use their long, sticky tongues to probe into ant colonies, extracting their prey with precision. This diet is not only a testament to their adaptability but also highlights the intricate relationships within ecosystems, where every species plays a role in maintaining the balance.

The Green Woodpecker's approach to life is a departure from the typical woodpecker behavior. Most woodpeckers are known for their characteristic pecking on tree trunks, a behavior that serves multiple purposes, including foraging for insects, creating nesting sites, and communicating with other woodpeckers. However, the Green Woodpecker spends a significant amount of its time on the ground, its bright green plumage blending seamlessly with the grass, as it hunts for ants.

Observing a Green Woodpecker in its natural habitat is a treat for birdwatchers. Their vibrant plumage, combined with their distinctive laughing call, adds a layer of charm to the forests and woodlands they inhabit. The sight of a Green Woodpecker diligently foraging on the ground, undeterred by the presence of onlookers, is a reminder of the diversity and adaptability of bird life.

Tomorrow, we turn our attention to a beautiful little yellow bird that breeds in cavities in North America. Can you guess what it will be?

Today friend-of-Birdorable Sharon - Birdchick herself - posted a neat celebrity birding video on her blog. In the clip, she talks with Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller) about the birds in his Las Vegas back yard, including a Black-chinned Hummingbird. It's a fun interview and includes some tips on using binoculars with glasses and on identifying your local Columbiformes. Sharon's wearing a Pecker Checker shirt from Birdorable in the interview, which means we join her in geeking out - Penn Jillette saw one of our shirts, OMG!

Just six more birds in the Birdorable Bonanza until we reach our 200th Birdorable. We hope you like all the new birds so far. Today's species is one of our favorite local birds, the Red-bellied Woodpecker. This cute woodpecker lives in the eastern part of North America. They are named for a reddish tint found on the lower belly.

Until the 31st of July we'll be adding a new bird every day as part of our Birdorable Bonanza until we reach the 200th at the end of this month. Here's a preview of tomorrow's bird:

The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is a beautiful bird, with its black and white striped back, black cap and nape and large white cheek patches. Unfortunately, it is an endangered species and the 5,000 groups of RCWs still left, or 12,500 birds from Florida to Virginia and west to southeast Oklahoma and eastern Texas, represent only about 1% of the woodpecker's original population. Check out our new Save the Red-cockaded Woodpecker t-shirt design:

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is one of the largest woodpecker species in the world. The bird is shiny blue-black with extensive white markings on its neck and on both the upper and lower trailing edges of its wings. It has a pure white bill and displays a prominent top crest, red in the male and black in the female.

That is what most people agree on, but what they don't agree on is if it's either extremely rare or extinct! There is no solid proof of recent sightings of the birds, but some people do claim they have seen it in the woods of the Southeastern United States.

Heavy logging activity and hunting by collectors decimated the population of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in the late 1800s. It was generally considered extinct in the 1920s, when a pair turned up in Florida, only to be shot for specimens. By 1938, an estimated 20 individuals remained in the wild, some 6-8 of which were located in the old-growth forest called the Singer Tract in Louisiana.

By 1944 the last known Ivory-billed Woodpecker, a female, was gone from the cut-over tract. Reports of at least one male bird in Arkansas in 2004 and 2005 were reported in April 2005 by a team led by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. But no real evidence exist of the sighting, making many believe that the bird is extinct. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is the miracle bird of the century - or is it?