Its drumming is unmistakable and can be heard from afar: Dendrocops major is the scientific name of the great spotted woodpecker, which translates from ancient Greek and Latin as "great tree chopper". According to the latest research findings, it owes its unusual anatomy to the fact that it does not suffer concussion from its typical drum rolls on tree trunks: its brain is not located directly behind the beak but above it, it is also small and light and fills the skull perfectly, meaning it has no room to swing or even hit the top of the skull. And so the woodpecker can hammer up to twenty times per second (!) to get insects and their larvae out of the (dead) wood or to chop open the jammed cone in its "woodpecker forge" and eat the seeds.

This woodpecker made of Lauscha glass will not hammer, which will be just fine for a peaceful feast. With the characteristic red neck spot (a male!), the striking red under-tail coverts and the white cheeks, the hand-painted glass body, which has been mouth-blown into shape, has a natural look. Only the wing coverts have been made lighter so that the woodpecker can shine even more beautifully in the light of your Christmas decorations. And attached close to the trunk underneath the often thinner fir tree top, it no longer needs a drum roll to draw attention to itself.

The Lauscha glassblowers used to call the figurative glass ornaments, which were blown into two-part negative molds "before the lamp". Today, as then, the lamp is the gas burner, whose flame keeps the glass viscous and malleable. And the molds that are used are also the same as 100 or 150 years ago. They are usually made of ceramic and must be handled with care, because in order to preserve them - and not overheat them in use - the molds must be gently cooled down again at regular intervals. Thus, no more than 150 figures or ornaments can be blown in one go. Only the starting material is different than in the past, because instead of glass tubes drawn specifically for this purpose are now used prefabricated flasks of colorless soda-lime glass.

Animal figures and especially birds as allegories of human characteristics traditionally found their place on the Christmas tree. According to the narrative, it should be symbolically at least one male and one female bird that meet. Quite handily, however, the compact bird body is simply very well suited to being blown into molds. To one side of the glass bulb, the fine bird's beak can then be freely extended, and to the other, the tail feather can be attached. This almost always consisted of cut glass silk, only in the 20th century real bird feathers became fashionable.

Certain manufacturing steps are carried out by hand. Slight dimensional and color deviations may therefore occur.