Atlas Green Woodpecker
| Atlas Green Woodpecker | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlas Green Woodpecker, female |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Picus vaillantii | ||||||||||||
| ( Malherbe , 1847) |
The Atlas Green Woodpecker ( Picus vaillantii ) is a species of bird from the family of woodpeckers (Picidae). It was long considered a subspecies of the green woodpecker , but is now considered a separate species. The medium-sized woodpecker lives in a relatively small area in North Africa, which includes northwest Morocco , northern Algeria and northwest Tunisia . The Atlas Green Woodpecker lives in montane deciduous and mixed forests .
The species is considered to be locally distributed and quite common. There is no information on the population trend, but at least the population is not considered to be rapidly falling. The IUCN therefore classifies the Atlas Green Woodpecker as 
(= least concern - not endangered).
description
The Atlas Green Woodpecker is a typical representative of the genus Picus and is similar in habit and color to the Green Woodpecker, which is also native to Central Europe . They are medium-sized woodpeckers with an indistinct feather bonnet, a stiff, long tail and a long, slightly chisel-shaped, pointed beak that is broad at the base. The ridge of the beak is slightly bent downwards. The body length is 30–33 cm, the wing length 154–170 mm. They are therefore only slightly smaller than a green woodpecker. The species shows a clear sexual dimorphism in terms of coloration .
In the male, the entire back, the umbrella feathers and the arm covers are bright yellowish green. The rump is bright yellow; the upper tail-coverts are also bright yellow with green bases. The coverts and wings are blackish, the inner wings show green edges. Inside and outside flags have white, ribbon-like spots. The arm wings have green outer flags with a gold tone, the inner flags are also banded white on a blackish background about half the width. The upper side of the tail is blackish with green edges, the central control feathers and occasionally the rest of them show a weak light banding.
The breast is yellow-green, the rest of the underside of the trunk yellowish white. The rear flanks, the lower abdomen and the upper tail-coverts show a clear olive-gray to greenish arrowhead-like markings or transverse bands. The under wing are banded gray and white, the under wing coverts show a yellow or green tone. The lower tail is colored similarly to the upper tail, but the outer control feathers are lighter and clearly banded.
The forehead, top of the head and neck are red, the area around the eyes and the ear covers are gray-green. The very strong and clearly separated beard stripe is monochrome black and clearly narrowed white at the top. The chin and throat are monochrome gray-whitish, often with a slight shade of green. The sides of the neck are yellow-green like the breast.
The beak is dark gray or brownish black, the base of the lower mandible lighter and more greenish. Legs and toes are olive gray. The iris is white or whitish and shows an overall pink shade or a pink outer ring.
In the female, the skull is predominantly blackish gray, the red area is limited to the neck and the back of the skull.
Vocalizations
The vocalizations are very similar to those of the green woodpecker . As with this one, most of the calls are variants of “kyack” or “kewk” - sounds that are uttered individually or in loose series. When encountering conspecifics, the calls are more explosive, such as "kyik, kyik, kyik ..." . The most famous call is a laughing, slightly rising "klew-klew-klewk" . Compared to the green woodpecker, all these sounds are less powerful and more whistling, the call series are faster and their pitch more constant. Atlas green woodpeckers also drum more frequently than green woodpeckers, the drum roll lasts 1.0–1.5 seconds.
distribution and habitat
This species of woodpecker inhabits a relatively small area in North Africa, which includes northwest Morocco , northern Algeria and northwest Tunisia . The size of the total distribution area is not known.
Atlas green woodpeckers inhabit montane deciduous and mixed forests consisting of cedar , holm oak ( Quercus ilex ), fir and poplar . The species occurs there mainly in clearings or clearcuts at heights between 950 and 2600 m, the height distribution extends up to the tree line.
Existence and endangerment
Information on the size of the world population is not available. The species is considered to be locally distributed and quite common. There is also no information on the population trend, but at least the population is not considered to be rapidly declining. The Atlas Green Woodpecker is therefore classified by the IUCN as safe (“least concern”).
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Lars Svensson , Peter J. Grant, Killian Mullarney, Dan Zetterström: Der neue Kosmos Vogelführer . Kosmos, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-440-07720-9 , pp. 224-225
- ↑ The Atlas Green Woodpecker at BirdLife International (online, accessed March 15, 2011)
literature
- Hans Winkler, David A. Christie and David Nurney: Woodpeckers. A Guide to the Woodpeckers, Piculets, and Wrynecks of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge 1995, ISBN 0-395-72043-5 : pp. 148-149 and 366-368
Web links
- Picus vaillantii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Accessed March 15, 2011th