The Magellanic Woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus) and the Selk'nam

The Selk'nam were a community of indigenous people, that lived in the southern of Argentina and Chile (in the Patagonian region).

Selk'nam at the beach, unknown author, source http://www.fund-edlb.org/postales.htm

They have some thrilling stories around birds. This one, is protagonized by the Magellanic Woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus), and was narrated by José Hotex, in May of 1923. 

Magellanic Woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus). Left: male, Right: female.

Author: Gabriel Barrera Maffioletti. CC BY-SA 4.0

This one is called as "How the woodpecker finished the selfish woman"(1). 

This legend is considerated by antropologists as an explanation of the formation of the geography in Isla Grande. It talks about Was (2), grandson of Kakac (2), whom lived in Cabo María. The grandfather asks to Was to paint his face with red painting because the woodpecker have decided to kill the powerful and selfish Taita, a woman that lived on the beach. This woman always seemed to hoard all the meat of the sea lions and the penguins, leaving the rest with none of it. The woodpecker was not content with this, so it went to finish this woman. All this was seen by Kakac, who contemplated how the woodpecker approached in sigil to the woman and grabbing her by her feet made her fall. Then, the woodpecker pushed her into the water, but she grabbed the woodpecker's tongue, leaving the bird stunned. 

This legend tries also to explain two particularities about woodpeckers: one is the classic behaviour of the woodpecker when he hits the trees with its beak, in which they make simultaneous and abrupt movements; and the second one is the long tongue they present.

Woodpecker's tongue

After that, the legend goes on; Kakac proclames the defeat of the woman, and the people and animals go to the beach the next day to eat, since there was a lot of food that she had kept.

(1) This legend can be found in Spanish in the book of Martín Gusinde "El Mundo Espiritual de los Selk´Nam" (2008).

(2) The transcription of the names is quite difficult, since the letters are not exactly the same. For a more accurate version of these, it is recommended to read the  "El Mundo Espiritual de los Selk´Nam" (2008) from Martín Gusinde.