Cactus woodpecker
| Cactus woodpecker | ||||||||||
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Cactus woodpecker ( Melanerpes cactorum ) |
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| Melanerpes cactorum | ||||||||||
| ( d'Orbigny , 1840) |
The white-fronted woodpecker ( Melanerpes cactorum ) is a species of bird from the family of woodpeckers (Picidae). This very small species of woodpecker lives in large parts of central South America and colonizes all kinds of dry forests, savannah , dry scrubland and populations of large columnar cacti . The food sought on trunks and thick branches consists mainly of ants and other insects as well as fruits and seeds. Especially in the winter dry season, holes are made into the phloem of tree trunks and strong branches and the sap is drunk. The cactus woodpecker is quite common and is classified by the IUCN as 
(= least concern - not endangered).
description
Cactus woodpeckers are very small woodpeckers with a rather short, slightly chisel-shaped, pointed beak that is broad at the base. The ridge of the beak is almost straight. The body length is about 16 cm and the weight 29-53 g; they are about the size of a small woodpecker . In contrast to many other woodpecker species, the species shows only a very low sexual dimorphism in terms of color. Females are, on average, slightly smaller and more short-billed than males. The animals come in two color morphs , which, however, show at least regionally flowing transitions.
Overall, the animals are black and white and pale red in color. The upper back and shoulders are shiny blue-black with a strong white line drawing in the middle of the back. The rest of the back, the rump and the upper tail-coverts are white with black spots or bands. The upper wing coverts are predominantly black with a blue sheen, the large ceilings show white spots and white tips, the distal half of the middle ceilings is white with black spots. The wings are blackish brown on top. For this reason, umbrella springs and arm wings are banded in white on the outside and inside flags , with the hand wings this banding is limited to the spring base. The top of the tail is black with white banding over all feathers, the newly pushed control feathers also have white tips. The underside of the torso and neck is pale reddish in color, pale and more gray towards the abdomen. Flanks and under tail-coverts show a weak arrowhead-like banding for this reason. The under wing coverts are predominantly white with hardly recognizable brown parts, the underside of the wings and the shock feathers are brown with white banding.
The beak is black or gray-black, legs and toes are slate-colored. The iris is brown to reddish brown.
Males are white at the base of the beak, on the front forehead, the front upper head and on the lower sides of the head to just below the eyes. The upper sides of the head including the area around the eyes, the middle and back of the skull and the sides of the neck are black, the side neck stripes run backwards into the black upper back. The back of the head and neck are white in the middle, yellowish or reddish in the upper part. There is a small red spot on the middle of the skull.
Females look almost like males, only the red spot on the top of the head is missing. Two morphs can be distinguished by the color of the throat, which is yellow, white or intermediate depending on the population. Young birds are very similar to adult birds. The upper side is more brownish and less shiny, the lower side is more banded and both sexes show a little orange-red in the middle of the upper head. No subspecies are recognized.
Vocalizations
So far, loud calls such as "wiii-wiiip, wii-biip" are known , a faster variant of these calls is used in courtship. At the beginning of the breeding season, the species drums near the breeding cavity, the drum rolls are short and quiet.
distribution and habitat
The cactus woodpecker lives in large parts of central South America . The distribution area extends in an east-west direction from southeast Peru , Bolivia and the west of Paraguay to the northwest of Argentina and to the south to southern Argentina. The size of the total distribution area is estimated at around 924,000 km². The species colonizes dry forests of all kinds, shrub steppes, dry scrubland and populations of large columnar cacti . The animals come from the lowlands up to 1700 m altitude, in Bolivia locally up to 2500 m.
Way of life
Cactus woodpeckers usually live in small groups of three to five individuals. Food is sought in trees and palms , especially on trunks and branches. These woodpeckers mainly eat ants and other insects as well as fruits and seeds. Food is obtained by searching crevices and holes and by reading. Especially in the winter dry season, holes are made in the phloem of trunks and strong branches of various trees and the sap that is released is drunk. In the Monte semi-desert in western Argentina, the tree species Prosopis flexuosa and the species Bulnesia retama and Larrea divaricata , which belong to the yoke-leaf family, are mainly used, in the Gran Chaco of central Argentina mainly the quebracho tree ( Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco ) and also Prosopis flexuosa . These holes are defended by the cactus woodpeckers, but they are an important source of water and energy for a number of other bird species, especially some hummingbirds .
The breeding season extends from September to December, the caves are created in trees, palms and cacti. Further information on the breeding biology is apparently not yet available.
Existence and endangerment
There is no information on the size of the world population, but the species is quite common in most of its range and the population is apparently stable. It is therefore classified by the IUCN as safe ("least concern").
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Cactus Woodpecker at BirdLife International
- ↑ PG Blendinger: Facilitation of sap-feeding birds by the White-fronted Woodpecker in the Monte Desert, Argentina. The Condor 101, 1999: pp. 402-407.
- ↑ Genise, JE, RJ Straneck and P. Hazeldine: Sapsucking in the White-fronted Woodpecker Melanerpes cactorum. Ornithole. Neotropical 4, 1993: pp. 77-82
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. 60-61 and 206.
Web links
- Melanerpes cactorum in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on 16 February, 2010.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Melanerpes cactorum in the Internet Bird Collection , accessed February 15, 2010