Tree Removal Changed The Drumming Behaviour of A Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker

The Japanese pygmy woodpecker ( Dendrocopos kizuki) , called “kogera” in Japanese, normally drums on trees. However, during observations conducted over seven years in the Satoyama landscape of Japan, the author discovered the unique behaviour of a Japanese pygmy woodpecker individual. The woodpecker often preferred to drum on metal plates of telephone poles to seek the metal’s specific high-pitched sound. This case study suggests that landscape diversity can translate into behavioural diversity within species.