Adorably Confused Woodpecker Lands On Animal Patrol Officer Believing He Is A Tree

Oct 28, 2020 by apost team

In this hilarious video from 2016, a woodpecker lands on an animal patrol officer's arm and begins to peck at him, having confused him for a tree! The funny scenario took place in Lodz, Poland. We're glad the officer found it funny and wasn't hurt from the woodpecker's pecking!

Confused Woodpecker Mistakes Man for Tree

It isn't every day you get mistaken for a tree. Wait, what? Yes, that's exactly what we said! It happened to this animal patrol officer in Lodz, Poland when a woodpecker landed on his shoulder and began to peck at him! What happens next is absolutely hilarious.

apost.com

The average woodpecker can peck at trees, or other things, 10,000 times a day due to their strong necks and beaks. They do this for a variety of reasons including marking their territory, finding food, and communicating with one another. Perhaps the woodpecker in this video just thought the man was a good source of food.

You can see the woodpecker's confusion at the beginning of the video, as the woodpecker lands on this officer's arm. It's almost as if he's thinking this isn't as hard a surface as I'm used to pecking. However, he doesn't seem to mind. The officer is simply stunned this bird is on his arm and is beginning to laugh hysterically.

Unable to find any grub on the officer's arm, the woodpecker moves up to his back and seems to search below his collar. Perhaps, instead of food, this woodpecker is looking for nesting materials or trying to communicate with the man.

It's true that woodpeckers peck for communication with other birds. You will not hear a chirping woodpecker. Instead, they use these tapping sounds to communicate where they are or when they are ready to mate. Maybe this woodpecker is confused that no sounds are coming from his pecks.

Woodpeckers also peck at trees in order to build their nests. Unlike other birds that use twigs and other debris for nest-building, woodpeckers actually drill holes into trees and nest inside them. Yikes! We certainly hope he hadn't planned on nesting inside this officer!

However, as we proceed further into this video, we cannot help but wonder if this man is feeling any pain. He is laughing so much that he is unable to talk, so we can only assume he's not feeling much more than a tickle.

Woodpeckers, like most wild birds, generally steer clear of humans as a rule. This bird is definitely the exception. Maybe she is just a friendly bird or maybe she's run out of pecking options. Whatever her reasons, we love that someone was able to capture this hilarious moment for all of us to enjoy.

Sadly, woodpeckers, in their search for food and shelter, end up destroying trees, buildings, and other structures with all their pecking. Pecking wood is simply a survival trait and the by-product is often damaged trees, roofs, and electrical poles.

With all this pecking, one could definitely wonder how these birds don't damage their tiny brains. We certainly did. In the case of woodpeckers, having a bird brain is actually an advantage.

Tiny brains can better withstand impact than a larger brain, like humans. Also, the bones surrounding their brains contain a spongy material at just the right spots to protect the brain most. Cool, huh?

Well, all we know is that this is one of the funniest videos we've seen in a while. Check it out and let us know what you think. You should also pass it along to your other bird-loving friends and family.