Pallid Woodpecker

Pallid Woodpecker
	Fahlkopfspecht, male of the subspecies Celeus e. leotaudi in Trinidad
Systematics
Order :	Woodpecker birds (Piciformes)
Family :	Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Subfamily :	Real woodpeckers (Picinae)
Genre :	Celeus
Type :	Pallid Woodpecker
Scientific name
	Celeus elegans
	( Statius Müller , 1776)

The chestnut woodpecker ( Celeus elegans ) is a species of bird from the family of woodpeckers (Picidae). This medium-sized and quite contrastingly colored woodpecker has a large distribution area in north-central South America . The species inhabits a wide range of dense and loosened forest types including gallery forests and cocoa plantations. The food, which is mainly sought in the area of the lower and middle tree layers, consists mainly of ants and termites , and fly maggots as well as fruits and berries are also eaten.

The species is not very common, but the world population is probably very large and is considered stable. The pale-headed woodpecker is therefore classified by the IUCN as safe (“least concern”).

description

Pale-headed woodpeckers are medium-sized woodpeckers with a long hood. The beak is short, slightly chisel-shaped, curved downwards at the ridge and relatively narrow at the base. The body length is about 26–32 cm, the weight 93–172 g. This makes these woodpeckers slightly smaller and lighter than a green woodpecker . The species shows a little noticeable sexual dimorphism in terms of coloration .

In males of the nominate form C. e. elegans , the back and shoulder feathers are mostly unmarked, deep reddish-chestnut brown, only occasionally indistinct black bands are present. The rump and the tail-coverts are creamy beige, some feathers on the rump sometimes show red tips. Upper wing coverts, umbrella feathers, arm wings and the inner hand wings, like the back, are predominantly monochrome, deep reddish-chestnut brown. Because of this, the wing covers occasionally show small white spots or thin white shaft lines. The arm wings are banded brown on the inside and sometimes on the outside flags . The outer hand wings are blackish-brown and usually have reddish-brown banding at the bases of the inner vents. The top of the control springs is also blackish, the outermost control spring pair has reddish-brown areas.

The underside of the trunk is dark maroon, the flanks are clearly lighter, creamy-cinnamon beige and mostly indistinctly banded. The lower wings are predominantly cream beige or light cinnamon in color, the wings, which are brown on the underside, usually show weak bands. The lower tail is colored like the upper tail, but lighter and less strong.

The forehead, skull and bonnet are beige and cream-colored. The broad stripe of beard is red. The rest of the head including chin and throat as well as the neck are like the underside of the trunk dark maroon.

The bill is ivory to yellow or greenish-yellow with a darker base and a bluish tone on the lower beak. Legs and toes are dark olive to dark gray. The iris is reddish brown to red, the eye ring blue.

Females lack the red streak of beard, this area is dark chestnut brown like the rest of the head.

Vocalizations

Several calls are known. This includes a melodic, falling series of calls such as “wewa ew-ew-ew-ew-ew” and rattling, screeching calls, including a “whick-frrr” , a scratchy “whäa-jer” or “keeaa” , that sometimes repeated several times, as well as a "wick-wick-wick" . Both sexes drum frequently during the breeding season, the drum sound consists of a loud, sharp double beat "dop-dop" .

Systematics

Winkler et al. recognize six subspecies, which are divided into two subspecies groups:

elegans - subspecies group with long hood and light skull
- Celeus e. elegans ( Müller , 1776) - French Guiana and adjacent parts of Suriname as well as northeastern Brazil north of the Amazon. The nominate form is described above.
- Celeus e. hellmayri Berlepsch , 1908 - Eastern Venezuela , Guiana and most of Surinam. Similar to the nominate form, but the upper part of the head darker.

jumanus subspecies group with a shorter hood and dark skull

Celeus e. jumanus ( Spix 1824) - Southwest Venezuela, East Colombia , Northwest Brazil, North Bolivia, and Brazil south of the Amazon. Overall darker than the subspecies of the elegans group, umbrella feathers and arm wings more reddish-brown, back and upper wing coverts with reddish-brown tips, the latter without white points.
Celeus e. citreopygius Sclater, PL & Salvin 1867 - East of Ecuador and Peru . Blacker than the previous subspecies, less yellow on the rump and on the flanks, wings less banded.

According to Winkler et al. the pale-headed woodpecker forms a super species with the chestnut woodpecker ( Celeus castaneus ), the blond-headed woodpecker ( Celeus flavescens ) and the pale-headed woodpecker ( Celeus lugubris ).

distribution and habitat

This woodpecker has a large range in north-central South America . The area of the species extends from eastern Colombia and eastern Venezuela to the east to the central north coast of Brazil and south to the north of Bolivia and central Brazil south of the Amazon . The size of the total distribution area is estimated at 6.51 million km².

The species inhabits a wide range of dense and loosened forest types with large trees, including gallery forests , terra Firma and Várzea and cocoa plantations. Pale-headed woodpeckers are largely restricted to the lowlands, in Venezuela the species still occurs at altitudes of 1000 m, in Colombia and Peru up to 500 m.

Way of life

Pale-headed woodpeckers are found individually, in pairs or in loose groups of up to five individuals and also regularly join mixed flocks of birds. The food, which is mainly sought in the area of the lower and middle tree layers, consists mainly of ants and termites , and fly maggots as well as fruits and berries are also eaten. The food is usually obtained on trunks or strong branches by hammering and reading. Pale-headed woodpeckers also chop holes in termite nests.

Broods were observed in French Guiana and Trinidad in April and May. Enlarged gonads in collected individuals suggest broods in January and February in southern Venezuela and northwestern Brazil. The caves are in dead logs or tree stumps. As far as is known, the clutch consists of three eggs. Further information on the breeding biology is not yet available.

Existence and endangerment

The species is considered to be rare. There is no reliable information on the size of the world population, but it is probably very large and is considered stable. The pale-headed woodpecker is therefore classified by the IUCN as safe (“least concern”).

swell

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Hans Winkler, David A. Christie and David Nurney: Woodpeckers. A Guide to the Woodpeckers, Piculets, and Wrynecks of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge 1995: p. 331
↑ ^a ^b The pale-headed woodpecker at BirdLife International . Retrieved December 26, 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. 128-129 and 331-332.

Web links

Celeus elegans in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Accessed December 26, 2011th