Pale-headed bamboo woodpecker
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Pale-crowned bamboo woodpecker ( Gecinulus grantia ) |
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| Gecinulus grantia | ||||||||||
| ( Horsfield , 1840) |
The Pale crown bamboo woodpecker ( Gecinulus Grantia ) is a species of bird from the family of woodpeckers (Picidae). This small and generally very dark colored woodpecker lives in parts of Southeast Asia. The species is closely tied to moist forests, where it shows a strong preference for bamboo stands . The diet consists mainly of ants , beetle larvae and other insects. The species is considered to be rarely to very rare and the population is likely to be in decline. The pale-crowned bamboo woodpecker is still classified by the IUCN as 
(= least concern - not endangered).
description
Pale-crowned bamboo woodpeckers are small, stocky woodpeckers with a small hood, a soft and wide tail and a short, slightly curved, chisel-shaped, pointed beak at the base. The nostrils are feathered. The body length is about 25-27 cm, they are slightly larger than a great spotted woodpecker . Information on weight is not yet available. The species shows a not very conspicuous sexual dimorphism in terms of color , but a clear geographical variation.
Overall, these woodpeckers are quite dark red and olive green. In the male of the nominate form , the upper back is dark olive, the entire remaining upper side including the umbrella feathers, the arm wings and the upper tail-coverts is dull, brownish, dark red. The wings of the hand are brown with matt reddish hems on the outer flags and wide beige bands. The control feathers are black-brown, lined with reddish and also broadly banded in beige to a variable extent. The entire underside of the fuselage is solid dark olive or brownish olive. The under wing are brownish with weak banding, the under wing coverts are gray and whitish spotted. The lower tail is largely colored like the upper tail, but with a dull greenish yellow tinge.
The skull, cap and neck are greenish yellow, the skull shows an area of pink feathers with red tips from the middle to about the back of the head. The rest of the head and neck are plain beige-green to pale olive-brown with a yellowish wash, chin and throat are darker and more olive. The beak is pale horn yellow to whitish or pale bluish ivory, slightly darker gray or greenish at the base. Legs and toes are olive green. The iris is red or reddish brown.
Females only lack the reddish part on the top of the head, the entire top of the head is yellow-green and becomes more yellow towards the neck.
Vocalizations
The most frequent contact calls are nasal series of calls repeated four to five times, such as "tschäik-tschäik-tschäik-tschäik" or "kwíiik kwik-kwik" , which increase in pitch and decrease again at the end. These calls are amazingly similar to the corresponding calls of the middle woodpecker . When excited or disturbed, these woodpeckers shout “kiriki kiriki kiriki kiriki” . Calls like "kwii-kwee .." are also known. The drum rolls are fast, even and of medium length, they are similar to those of the small woodpecker .
distribution and habitat
This woodpecker inhabits parts of continental Southeast Asia. The distribution area extends in a west-east direction from the extreme east of Nepal via Assam , the north of Bangladesh and west and central Myanmar to the south-west of China. Further to the east there are some disjoint deposits as far as Fujian . To the south, the distribution extends in a relatively narrow belt through Laos to the southern tip of Vietnam . The size of the total distribution area is not exactly known.
Pale-headed bamboo woodpeckers inhabit moist evergreen forests, mixed secondary and bamboo forests with bamboo and shrubbery, and generally show a strong preference for bamboo stands. The animals are largely restricted to lowlands below 1000 m and are only rarely observed up to 1200 m.
Systematics
The number of subspecies is controversial, Winkler et al. recognize 3 subspecies:
- Gecinulus grantia grantia ( Horsfield , 1840) - The distribution area of the nominate form comprises the western part of the area of the species and extends east to west of Yunnan .
- Gecinulus g. indochinensis Delacour , 1927 - Southwest Yunnan as well as Laos and Vietnam . Upper side more matt red than with the nominate shape, head sides more gray and less yellow, lower side more ash-brown and less olive, matt beige wing bands wider and extended to the arm wings. Reddish part on the upper head of the male more pink and less red.
- Gecinulus g. viridanus Slater , 1897 - Fujian and northern Guangdong in southeast China. Larger than the other two subspecies with a relatively longer tail but a shorter beak. Even less red than the previous subspecies, upper side more olive and only the large upper wing-coverts clearly conspicuously red, underside gray-brown. Reddish area on the upper part of the head of the male is quite small and pale pink.
Way of life
The not very loud and shy species usually lives in the lower strata of the vegetation on the trunks of small trees and especially on large bamboo, only rarely in the tree tops, on lying dead wood or on the ground. The food sought there consists mainly of ants , beetle larvae and other insects. Pale-headed bamboo woodpeckers are mostly seen in pairs or small family groups. The breeding season extends from March to May. The caves are created at a height of 1–6 m in a dead tree or tree stump, the clutch usually consists of three eggs. Further information on the breeding biology is not yet available.
Existence and endangerment
There is no information on the size of the population. The species is considered to be rare to very rare, and the population is likely to be in decline due to continued habitat degradation. The pale-crowned bamboo woodpecker is still classified by the IUCN as safe (“least concern”).
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literature
- Hans Winkler , David 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. 156-157 and 380-381.
Individual evidence
- ^ BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Gecinulus grantia . ( Online , accessed December 17, 2010)
- ↑ Hans Winkler, David Christie and David Nurney: Woodpeckers. A Guide to the Woodpeckers, Piculets, and Wrynecks of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge 1995: pp. 380-381
Web links
- Gecinulus Grantia in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2010. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved on December 17 of 2010.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Gecinulus grantia in the Internet Bird Collection