Brown-rumped woodpecker
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Brown- rumped woodpecker ( Meiglyptes tristis ) |
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| Meiglyptes tristis | ||||||||||
| ( Horsfield , 1821) |
The Braunbürzelspecht ( meiglyptes tristis ) is a species of bird from the family of woodpeckers (Picidae). This little woodpecker is common over large parts of Southeast Asia. The species inhabits the original tropical rainforest as well as secondary forests inland and on the coasts, but also old rubber tree plantations and fruit groves. The food, consisting mainly of ants and other insects, is sought in the middle and upper tree layers, but also on smaller trees, especially on twigs and the outer ends of branches. The population is evidently declining, but the brown-rumped woodpecker is still classified by the IUCN as safe ("least concern").
description
Brown-rumped woodpeckers are very small woodpeckers with a relatively small head with a short hood and a short tail. The relatively long beak is bent downwards at the ridge, pointed at points and quite narrow at the base, the nostrils are only partially covered by feathers. The body length is 17-18 cm, the weight 31-50 g. The species is slightly larger than a small woodpecker , but almost twice as heavy. In terms of coloration, it shows a slight gender dimorphism .
Overall, these woodpeckers are banded with black and whitish bands. In males of the subspecies Meiglyptes t. grammithorax , the lower back and rump are monochrome whitish beige, the rest of the back and the upper tail- coverts are banded in black and whitish beige. The top of the wings and the upper wing-coverts are black with whitish beige bands, the latter are broadest on the tips of the wing-coverts and the inner plumes of the wings. The top of the tail is also black and shows narrow beige-whitish bands. The entire underside of the hull is also banded in black and whitish-beige. The bandages are narrow on the upper chest and on the flanks, on the upper abdomen the dark bandages usually combine to form a brownish or blackish spot. The underside of the wings is black-brown, the under wing-coverts show a light beige-white color. The underside of the tail is narrowly banded in beige on a brown background.
The head, neck and the short bonnet are narrowly banded in black on a light beige background, these bands are usually less distinct on the forehead or are missing entirely. The eye ring, base of the beak and the anterior eye area are solid pale beige. The beard stripe is short and dark red. The beak is black, legs and toes are gray to greenish. The iris is warm brown.
The only thing missing in females is the red stripe of the beard, this area is banded in black and beige like the rest of the head.
Vocalizations
Brown-rumped woodpeckers are not very noticeable acoustically. Single, sometimes double or irregularly lined up calls like "pit" are uttered when there is little excitement or in flight. A "piii" that is about five times as long is obviously an alarm call. “Wicka” calls are uttered to the couple , which are similar to those of the American gold woodpeckers ( Colaptes sp.). A quiet rattling that often lasts more than two seconds and that swells up and down, such as "drrrrr" , apparently serves to communicate over a greater distance. Brown-rumped woodpeckers only drum softly, the individual drum rolls are played at around 15 beats per second and last 1.5 to 3 seconds, with the pace being higher at the beginning and falling later.
distribution and habitat
This woodpecker is common over large parts of Southeast Asia. The distribution area extends in a west-east direction from northwest Sumatra to the east of Borneo , in north-south direction from south Myanmar and Thailand to the southern tip of Sumatra and at least originally to the west of Java . The size of the total distribution area is not exactly known.
The species inhabits the original tropical rainforest as well as secondary forests inland and on the coasts, where it is particularly common at forest edges, in clearings or in the primeval forest in places with secondary forest. Brown rump woodpeckers also inhabit old rubber tree plantations and fruit groves. The occurrence is largely limited to the lowlands, the animals occur in Thailand up to 600 m height and in Malaysia up to 800 m height.
Systematics
Two quite well differentiated subspecies are recognized:
- Meiglyptes tristis grammithorax ( Malherbe , 1862) - largest part of the distribution area.
- Meiglyptes tristis tristis ( Horsfield 1821) - the distribution area of the nominate form is or was limited to the west of Java. The banding is narrower on the top than in the nominate form and has a greater proportion of white, while the proportion of black is greater on the underside. There are occasional white areas on the upper flanks.
Way of life
Brown-rumped woodpeckers are often found in pairs in more or less loose contact with each other, and they are occasionally seen together with other small insectivorous bird species. Food is sought primarily on the branches and leaves of the crowns of large trees, but also on trunks and dead branches near the crown, as well as on younger trees. There are often several trees between the places approached for foraging. Food objects are obtained primarily by reading, more rarely by poking and probing, while bark, leaves and thin twigs are searched. The animals seldom chop and not very vigorously. The diet consists of ants and other insects. Brown-rumped woodpeckers move very quickly and often sit diagonally on branches or hang on twigs in a supine position like a tit . The flight is straightforward without the wavy lines typical of many woodpeckers.
The breeding season probably extends from March to July. The breeding caves are created at heights of less than 2 to 15 m in living and dead trees, the clutch consists of two eggs. Further information on the breeding biology is not yet available.
Existence and endangerment
There is no information on the population size, but the species is mostly considered to be quite common in its large distribution area. The population is apparently declining overall. It is uncertain whether the species still occurs on Java, there is no recent evidence for it. The IUCN, however, still classifies the brown-rumped woodpecker as harmless (“least concern”).
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Meiglyptes tristis . ( Online , accessed September 27, 2010)
- ↑ Hans Winkler, David Christie and David Nurney: Woodpeckers. A Guide to the Woodpeckers, Piculets, and Wrynecks of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge 1995: p. 386.
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. 160-161 and 386-387.
Web links
- Meiglyptes tristis in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2010. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved on 27 September, 2010.
Other web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Meiglyptes tristis in the Internet Bird Collection