Okinawa woodpecker
| Okinawa woodpecker | ||||||||||||
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Okinawan woodpecker ( Sapheopipo noguchii ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Sapheopipo | ||||||||||||
| Hargitt , 1890 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Sapheopipo noguchii | ||||||||||||
| ( Seebohm , 1887) |
The Okinawa woodpecker ( Sapheopipo noguchii , Syn .: Dendrocopos noguchii , Japanese 野 口 啄木鳥 , Noguchi-gera , literally: "Noguchi woodpecker") is endemic to the north of the island of Okinawa , the main island of the Ryūkyū Islands . Recent genetic analyzes indicate a close relationship between the species and the genus Dendrocopos . The species is threatened by various anthropogenic influences and is one of the rarest woodpecker species. The IUCN therefore classifies the Okinawa woodpecker as critically endangered.
features
The Okinawa woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker species with a gloomy appearance. With a body length of 31 centimeters, it is almost the size of the native green woodpecker . The upper side is a dull, dark brown, on the back, rump and upper tail-coverts the feathers are colored reddish, which gives these body areas a reddish sheen. The wings are significantly darker, only the outer hand wings show some white markings. The long tail is dark brown. The underside and flanks are dull reddish brown, the under tail-coverts a rich red. The underside of the wing is brownish, the wings are lighter, but not banded in sharp contrast. Throat, chest and cheeks are largely unmarked cinnamon. The long, chisel-like beak is yellowish.
The most striking sexual dimorphism is the color of the top of the head: in the male, the forehead and vertex and occiput are bright red, in the female these areas are black-brown. Otherwise, the females are similar in size and plumage to the males, but appear a bit lighter and paler overall.
distribution and habitat
The Okinawa woodpecker is endemic to the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. There the species occurs in the relatively small area of the mountainous country known in the local dialect of Yambaru. Occasionally, Sapheopipo noguchii also breeds in the forested coastal areas in the north of the island. Non-breeding season observations are also available from some locations in northeast Okinawa. This woodpecker species was probably represented much more extensively in Okinawa in historical times, but was pushed back to these areas by the extensive deforestation of the very densely populated island.
Most of the known breeding grounds are in ancient, evergreen mountain rainforests, which owe their preservation to their use as a jungle training center for the US armed forces stationed on Okinawa. The Okinawa woodpecker needs old, natural deciduous forests with a certain proportion of standing and lying dead wood as well as trees in their decay phase as breeding and feeding habitat. Nesting caves are built in damaged or already dead trunks, which in the area of the cave system still have a diameter of at least 20 centimeters. The most common nesting tree is Castanopsis cuspidata , a species from the pseudo-chestnut genus , but nesting holes are also created in other deciduous trees, such as Distylium racemosum , Cinnamomum japonicum or in Styrax japonica , the Japanese storax tree . Conifers avoid this species.
Food and subsistence
The food of the Okinawa woodpecker apparently consists mainly of larger arthropods , mainly large beetle larvae. Also hundred- and millipedes , moths and spiders are important components of animal foods. Vegetables such as fruits, berries and nuts are eaten regularly, their quantitative proportion is unknown. The prey animals are captured in the trunk and branch area as well as on the ground. The woodpecker exposes insect passages by chopping, but also collects them by poking and drilling near the surface. Often he also searches the loose humus layer for food or pokes in the rotting substrate. Fruits and nuts are often picked directly from the branches.
Breeding biology
No information is available about pair formation and the duration of the pair bond. Okinawa woodpeckers build a spacious nest hole, mainly in pseudo-chestnut trees, as old trees of this genus are very often hollow. The nest holes are mostly between two and 9 meters high. The laying period is between late February and mid-May, but especially in March and April. Precise information on the average size of the clutch, breeding duration and nestling time is missing; According to reports from local people, however, a maximum of three young woodpeckers fly out of a brood, but usually fewer.
Systematics
Sapheopipo noguchii was first described in 1887 by Henry Seebohm as Picus noguchii using the hide of a young bird . In 1890 this woodpecker was assigned to the monotypic genus Sapheopipo by Edward Hargitt . Due to morphological similarities, closer relationships with the East Asian representatives of the genera Blythipicus and Gecinulus were assumed. The frequently made assumption that the Okinawan woodpecker could be more closely related to woodpeckers of the Eurasian great spotted woodpecker group was not generally accepted for a long time. However, recently carried out DNA analyzes confirmed this assumption and established a very close relationship between S. noguchii and members of the genus Dendrocopus , especially D. leucotos and D. major .
Existence and endangerment
The population of this woodpecker species is critical. The latest population estimates assume a breeding population of around 75 pairs and a total population of 176 to 584 individuals. But this number could be a little too low, since the area of the remaining pseudo-chestnut forests in northern Okinawa is around 100 square kilometers and the density of areas in optimal habitats is up to 12 areas per square kilometer. The Yambaru area is used extensively by the American armed forces as a military training area and may only be entered with special permission. After the return to the Japanese government, which will soon take place, a national park is to be established in this area.
The main endangerment of this woodpecker species is still the destruction of the habitat, in particular the destruction of the primary deciduous forests with subsequent reforestation with conifers. In 2007, the American armed forces began setting up six helicopter landing pads in the Yambaru area. These represent an additional threat to the remaining habitat. Diseases and natural disasters, especially typhoons , are an additional threat to the species.
The Okinawa woodpecker is classified by the IUCN as critically endangered due to the small total population and the ongoing endangerment.
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Individual evidence
literature
- Josep del Hoyo, et al. : Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 7: Jacamars to Woodpeckers. Lynx Edicions, 2002, plate 33; ISBN 84-87334-37-7 (HBW), p. 477.
- Hans Winkler , David Christie & David Nurney: Woodpeckers. A Guide to Woodpeckers, Piculets, and Wrynecks of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge 1995, ISBN 0-395-72043-5 (Winkler).
- Hans Winkler, Nobuhiko Kotaka, Anita Gamauf, Franziska Nittinger and Elisabeth Haring: On the phylogenetic position of the Okinawa woodpecker (Sapheopipo noguchii) In: Journal of Ornithology 146: 2 (2005); Pp. 103-110; ISSN 0021-8375 (Winkler et al. )
- Hokkaido Birdbase: Summary of the available data; (2001) engl. pdf (288 kB)
- Lester L. Short: Habits, Relationships, and Conservation of the Okinawa Woodpecker The Wilson Bulletin Vol. 85, No. March 1, 1973 (PDF; 1.0 MB)
- Erik Hirschfeld: The Rare Birds Yearbook 2008 , MagDig Media Ltd., 2007. Shrewsbury ISBN 978-0-9552607-3-5
Web links
- Dendrocopos noguchii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved on December 16 of 2010.