Journal of the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology
Online ISSN : 1883-3659
Print ISSN : 0044-0183
ISSN-L : 0044-0183
Two examples of Upper Bill Abnormality in Woodpeckers, Dendrocopos major and D. kizuki
Ken Ishida
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1988 Volume 20 Issue 2 Pages 111-115

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Abstract
Two observations of the woodpecker bill in captivity are reported. 1) A male Great-spotted Woodpecker caught as an adult lost most part of its upper bill (rhamphotheca). It repeated recovering in abnormal shapes and breaking off. 2) The upper bill of a young female Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker, caught as a nestling, abnormally elongated and became shorter to normal length in a month. These observations suggest that woodpecker bill can be modified easily by bird's foraging behavior.
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