In Slovenia, ten species of birds belong to the woodpecker family (Picidae). All, except the vijeglavka, are specialized for climbing and chiselling holes in vertical trunks. Their mode of life is also reflected in their anatomy. They have sturdy legs and well-mobile toes with sharp and strong claws. In species with four toes (the three-toed woodpecker has only three), two toes are directed forward, two backward. Their tail feathers serve as a prop on vertical surfaces. A distinctive feature of woodpeckers is also a strong, chisel- or spike-shaped bill and a skull, which together with the neck muscles absorb the vibrations produced during pecking and chiselling into hollows. Woodpeckers are primary cavity drillers, which means they bore the holes themselves, while secondary cavity dwellers do not peck them, but simply settle in already made holes.
Woodpeckers feed mainly on insects or on their larvae bored into wood. To enable these creatures to be pulled out of their burrows, woodpeckers have a strongly elongated tongue.
The majority of woodpecker species use drumming or tapping on dead parts of trees to attract mates and mark their territory. All of our woodpecker species are resident, only vijeglavka is migratory.
