Distribution and characteristics of the damage of the Syrian woodpecker,Dendrocopos syriacus (HEMP. & EHR.) (Aves: picidae), in polyethylene irrigation pipes in fruit orchards

The Syrian woodpecker,Dendrocopos syriacus (Hemp. & Ehr.), was found to attack black polyethylene pipes of both sprinkler and drip irrigation systems in Israel. Nut crops and deciduous fruits are preferred by the woodpecker, and trees infested by boring insects are favored. Damage to pipes is frequent in plots of avocado, citrus and grapevine bordered by rows of windbreakers, with the pipes near the windbreaker being the most severely attacked. In orchards without windbreakers the distribution of damage seems to be random, or concentrated near trees infected by boring insects, or near other attractive objects (e.g. electric poles).