Hindu Green Woodpecker
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Hindu Green Woodpecker ( Picus xanthopygaeus ) |
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| Picus xanthopygaeus | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray & Gray , 1847) |
The Hindu green woodpecker ( Picus xanthopygaeus ) is a species of bird in the family of the woodpeckers (Picidae). The medium-sized woodpecker species inhabits large parts of South Asia and lives in a wide range of moist to dry forest types, but also sparsely forested park-like landscapes, teak and especially rubber tree and tea plantations. The food that is often sought on the ground consists primarily of ants and termites, as well as other small insect larvae. These woodpeckers also eat seeds and nectar .
The species is considered to be quite common. The stock trend is not known, but is at least not seen as a sharp decline. The Hindu green woodpecker is therefore classified by the IUCN as safe (“least concern”).
description
The Hindu 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 relatively 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 about 30 cm, the weight 83–111 g. This makes them somewhat smaller and only about half as heavy as a green woodpecker. The species shows a clear sexual dimorphism in terms of coloration .
In males, the entire back, including the shoulder feathers, is green with a yellowish tinge, the rump and most of the upper tail-coverts are bright yellow. The upper wing ceilings and the umbrella feathers are dark green, the base of the umbrella feathers is darker and occasionally shows some white bands. The wings are brownish black, the arm wings have dark green outer flags and the entire hand wings and the inside flags of the arm wings are banded in white. The tail is blackish top, most or all feathers are narrow banded brown. The basic color of the entire underside of the trunk is whitish to light beige-white with a shade of green on the chest. Because of this, all feathers show wide olive hems and tips, creating a scale-like or arrowhead-shaped pattern. This pattern is sometimes more indistinct on the lower abdomen. The under wing are brownish, the under wing coverts lighter and the entire under wing is banded white. The under-tail is dark brown with a dirty yellow wash and shows dirty yellow-brown bands of variable thickness.
The forehead, top of the head and bonnet are red, this red area is narrowly bordered in black from the forehead to the neck. A narrow white stripe over the eyes extends from the front of the eye to the back of the head. The ear covers are greyish with brownish-black or brownish dashes. The narrow white rein strip begins at the base of the beak and extends to the lower ear covers. The streak of beard is darkly black, but is very indistinctly set off by whitish feather tips and edges and often seems to merge with the throat color. The chin and throat are dirty white with fine dark brown or olive lines of varying thickness. The neck, like the back, is green with a yellowish tone.
The bill is dark brown or gray-brown, the base of the lower mandible is dirty yellow. Legs and toes are gray-green, maybe even yellowish brown. The iris is white or pale pink, darker on the outside.
In the female, the red areas on the head are missing; The forehead, crown of the head and bonnet are black with greyish dots.
Despite the large distribution area, the intraspecific variability is low, Winkler et al. do not recognize subspecies.
Vocalizations
The species does not seem to be very loud, so far only a sharp single "quiiimp" is known as a call . The animals are drumming, the drum rolls have apparently not yet been described in detail.
distribution and habitat
This species of woodpecker inhabits large parts of South Asia. The strongly disjointed distribution area extends in a west-east direction from northwest India over the south of Nepal , Assam , Bangladesh and Myanmar to the west of the Chinese province Yunnan ; to the south it covers almost the entire Indian subcontinent , Sri Lanka and also extends to the south-west of Thailand . Obviously isolated from this geographically, the species also occurs in Cambodia , Laos and in southern Vietnam . The size of the total distribution area is not known.
Hindu green woodpeckers inhabit a broad spectrum of moist to dry forest types, but also sparsely forested park-like landscapes, teak and especially rubber tree and tea plantations; they are only missing in the dense, closed forest. The species is largely restricted to the flat and lower hill country and occurs in Nepal up to 465 m, rarely up to 965 m, in Sri Lanka at heights from 300 to 1500 m.
nutrition
The food that is often sought on the ground consists primarily of ants and termites, as well as other small insect larvae. These woodpeckers also eat seeds and nectar .
Reproduction
Hindu green woodpeckers live in pairs. The breeding season is different depending on the distribution area, on the Indian subcontinent it ranges from March to May, in Sri Lanka with the beginning of the southwest monsoon from May, rarely April to September. The approximately 30 cm deep caves are sometimes built in a tree trunk or a strong branch only 0.6 m above the ground, but mostly at heights between 4 and 8 m. The clutch consists of three to five eggs, the young are fed by both parents. Further information on the breeding biology is not yet available.
Existence and endangerment
Information on the size of the world population is not available. The stock trend is not known, but is at least not seen as a sharp decline. The Hindu green woodpecker is therefore classified by the IUCN as safe (“least concern”).
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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. 363
- ↑ The Hindu Green Woodpecker at BirdLife International (Online, accessed December 29, 2010)
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. 146-147 and 363-364.
Web links
- Picus xanthopygaeus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved on December 28 of 2010.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Picus xanthopygaeus in the Internet Bird Collection
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Streak-throated Woodpecker ( Picus xanthopygaeus )