Re: birds
Posted: 2017/03/15 18:31:17 UTC
After moving to an area where Pileated Woodpeckers could be seen and heard, it took a few years for it to dawn on me that they were the inspiration for the Woody Woodpecker Song.
A forum devoted to the scientific advancement of hang gliding
http://www.kitestrings.org/
fired up iBird PRO on my phone, played all the Acorn Woodpecker calls. Pretty good match.Walter Lantz is believed to have patterned the call of his cartoon character Woody Woodpecker on that of the acorn woodpecker, while patterning his appearance on that of the pileated woodpecker which has a prominent crest.
Thank God! These bird trip reports have been a laborious task to read, and I hope that I never get to endure that form of torture again.Mostly finished with the tropical bird trip reports.
Gracie Lantz Dies; Invented Woody WoodpeckerOrigin[edit]
According to Walter Lantz's press agent, the idea for Woody came during the producer's honeymoon with his wife, Gracie, in Lake Sherwood, California. A noisy acorn woodpecker[2] outside their cabin kept the couple awake at night, and when a heavy rain started, they learned that the bird had bored holes in their cabin's roof. As both Walter and Gracie told Dallas attorney Rod Phelps during a visit, Walter wanted to shoot the thing, but Gracie suggested that her husband make a cartoon about the bird, and thus Woody was born.[6] Woody shares many characteristics in common with the pileated woodpecker in terms of both physical appearance as well as his characteristic laugh, which resembles the call of the pileated woodpecker. These similarities are apparently the result of the artistic license of the creators, and have caused much confusion within the birding community amongst those who have attempted to classify Woody's species.[2]