Arabian woodpecker
| Arabian woodpecker | ||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Dendrocopos dorae | ||||||||||
| ( Bates & Kinnear , 1935) |
The Arabian Specht ( Dendrocopos dorae ) is a Spechtart of the genus Buntspechte . It is found in Yemen and Saudi Arabia and is the only species of woodpecker that breeds on the Arabian Peninsula .
features
The Arabian woodpecker reaches a size of 18 centimeters. The plumage is predominantly olive brown. The wings are black with white bands. There is a red spot on the back of the male's head. The long beak is gray. Both sexes have a red spot in the middle of the abdomen. The voice consists of a kek-kek-kek-kek-kek-kek, which first accelerates and then falls off. Between the pairs there are variable tones that sound like pweek pit-pit-pit-pit-pit-pit-pit.
Occurrence
The Arabian woodpecker is found in the foothills of the Red Sea and in the western walls of southwestern Arabia. The distribution area extends from latitude 26 ° north in Saudi Arabia to latitude 13 ° north in Yemen.
habitat
The Arabian woodpecker inhabits a wide variety of woodland types. These include fig, date palm and pandanus groves at low altitudes, subtropical evergreen floodplain forests, conventional coffee plantations and well-developed bush land dominated by succulents at medium altitudes. It can also be found in woods, groves, in parklands with acacias, junipers, dragon trees and olive trees as well as in old orchards at altitudes of up to 3000 m.
Way of life
The diet of the Arabian woodpecker consists of wood-boring insects, ants and aphids.
Naming
The Arabian woodpecker was described as Desertipicus dorae by George Latimer Bates and Norman Boyd Kinnear in 1935 . The type epithet dorae refers to Dora Philby, the wife of the researcher St. John Philby , who collected the holotype at Ukadh on the route between Ta'if and Mecca in Saudi Arabia in January 1935 .
literature
- Josep del Hoyo, et al. : Handbook of the Birds of the World , Volume 7 ( Jacamars to Woodpeckers ). Lynx Edicions, 2002, ISBN 84-87334-37-7
Web links
- Dendropicos dorae in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2004. Retrieved on December 20 of 2008.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Dendrocopos dorae in the Internet Bird Collection
- Species description at BirdLife
- ARKive - photos and information on the Arabian Woodpecker