BIRDLAND: Huh-huh-huh ha-ha

Recognize this guy? The Lineated Woodpecker was the inspiration for Woody Woodpecker, the screwball character created by Warner Bros. animator Walt Lantz in 1940. Like its brash cartoon counterpart, real-life Lineated Woodpeckers sport a jaunty red crest and engage in high-energy chopping, loudly chipping large holes in trees as they look for ants and grubs and beetles. But unlike the Woody Woodpecker trademark, “Huh-huh-huh ha-ha, Huh-huh-huh ha-ha…”, the call of these birds sounds more like a high-pitched, maniacal laugh. This Lineated Woodpecker was photographed in Colombia by Mark Silverstein.