[drtom]

You ain't seen nothin' yet. Check out this technique:

[djembefeeling]

I know that guy! It's Donald -
with such small hands and so big a mouth
he's got to drum up for the racist south!

[drtom]

I know that guy! It's Donald -

Well, it hadn't occurred to me, but now that you've mentioned it, those hands do look oddly familiar.

[batadunbata]

Thanks DrTom, I love videos showing animals doing things we assume only humans do, much appreciated. Especially music and rhythm, which serves no obvious practical sense on it's own.
Cats playing piano, dogs singing along with guitar, etc.

I also like stories of animal compassion, like the seal that rescued a guy who had jumped off the Golden Gate bridge (it pushed him upward from below, and he freaked out, thinking it was a shark). There's also video of a hippo rescuing a baby impala from a crocodile on youtube, after dragging it to shore, the hippo tries to lift its head up (prevent drowing?) and hangs around singing to it.

[drtom]

It's just so obvious to me that this little bird thoroughly loves drumming. Gives me such kick I had to share it.

[djembefeeling]

They just recently shared a similar video on the website of my favorite newspaper.Scientists of the National University at Canberra in Australia had filmed 131 instances of drumming cockatoos. It's part of the male's courtship ritual:

[michi]

Thanks for those links, that was fun to watch!

Michi.

[drtom]

That's great DF! I research drumming in general (very informally when I have time) and have seen a few videos of birds (other critters as well) drumming in various ways, but I hadn't seen these.

Fascinating to watch them pick out and craft their mallets, even rejecting some if they don't quite do the trick.

Thanks!

[boromir76]

Nice. When it comes to speed, no one can beat feathery metal drummers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNSxCLYKgys

[djembefeeling]

He is either a young gun from the ballets in the Ivory Coast or Anthony Scaramucci, drum up in no time and then fly.

[batadunbata]

Wow, thanks Djembefeeling, that's amazing footage, I've never seen anything like it and I watch a lot of nature documentaries.

And thanks Boromir76, that's an amazing sound the woodpecker gets from the chimney, it's funny, but glad it's not my chimney!

[boromir76]

It is well known fact that parrots are one of the most inteligent birds on the planet, but I was surprised nonetheless to see cockatoos do the drumming with use of the leverage as do the humans: the stick. It is simply fascinating!

With woodpeckers however, I am fascinated with the mechanics. How the hell, do they do this very rapid bursts or "drum rolls" on the surface which is very rigid with a single beak...
I would speculate they use a kind of "finger push and pull stick technique" used with some very good kit drummers. They just use beaks and their head and neck muscles instead of fingers and stick I guess. It can be seen in this demonstration for a few seconds at 2:09 in the video and resembles very much on woodpecker's "drum roll": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Zfdank3rI Quite impressive.

[drtom]

I get the impression that woodpecker is beating out a call. He beats then seems to check for a response.

[Carl]

I walk most mornings in an area full of woodpeckers, I usually hear a variation of the opening call to Kotaduga or Soko type rhythms (xxx x . x x . x . . or xxx x . x x . x x . x) Also some sick short licks of similar type. Most often with a x x . x x . basis. Weird or what? I keep meaning to make a high quality recording for analysis. Debon of New England maybe?


Carl

[drtom]

I walk most mornings in an area full of woodpeckers, I usually hear a variation of the opening call to Kotaduga or Soko type rhythms (xxx x . x x . x . . or xxx x . x x . x x . x)

Hmmmm . . . All this time I thought these rhythms were variations of a woodpecker woodpecking.