Orange woodpecker

Orange woodpecker
	Orange woodpecker (male)
Systematics
Class :	Birds (aves)
Order :	Woodpecker birds (Piciformes)
Family :	Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Subfamily :	Real woodpeckers (Picinae)
Genre :	Dinopium
Type :	Orange woodpecker
Scientific name
	Dinopium benghalense
	( Linnaeus , 1758)

The Orange Woodpecker ( Dinopium benghalense ) is a species of bird from the family of woodpeckers (Picidae). The medium sized Spechtart colonized large parts of South Asia and inhabited a wide range of moist to dry forest types to coconut and Palmyra palm plantations by, parks, gardens, avenues. The food sought in the entire tree layer and also on the ground consists mainly of ants and their larvae and pupae. Occasionally these woodpeckers also eat caterpillars, weevils and other beetles, as well as spiders, and regularly also fruit and nectar .

The species is considered common to locally common, the population is estimated to be stable. The IUCN therefore classifies the orange woodpecker as safe (“least concern”).

description

Orange woodpeckers are medium-sized woodpeckers with a pronounced feather hood, a rather soft, long and slightly downwardly curved tail and a relatively long, almost point-like, pointed beak, which is quite narrow at the base. The ridge of the beak is bent downwards. The body length is 26–29 cm, the weight 86–133 g. This makes them somewhat smaller and significantly lighter than a green woodpecker . The orange woodpecker belongs to the species of the genus Dinopium with four toes. It is colored richly and shows a clear sexual dimorphism with regard to the coloring .

In males of the nominate form , the uppermost back is black, the middle back and shoulder feathers are intensely golden yellow, the lower back, rump and upper tail-coverts are again black. The upper wing coverts are predominantly gold-olive, the outer middle and most of the outer small upper wing coverts are black with triangular white subterminal spots, the inner large ceilings often show a white central line. The wings are brownish black, the umbrella feathers and the arm wings have gold-olive outer flags and the hand wings and the inside flags of the arm wings and umbrella feathers are spotted white. The top of the tail is black. The basic color of the entire underside of the trunk is white to beige-white. On the chest the feathers show wide black hems and tips, towards the back the black markings become narrower and / or absent and are occasionally less strong and more like a bandage on the belly and under tail-coverts. The under wing are brown, the under wing coverts largely white with black banding. The lower tail is brown-black.

The feathers on the forehead and skull are black with red tips, the bonnet is red. A broad white stripe above the eyes extends from the top of the eye to the back of the head. Underneath, a wide black eye stripe runs from the back of the eye to behind the ear covers. The white rein strip begins at the base of the beak and runs backwards below the ear covers, then becomes wider and runs as a white band over the side of the neck to the upper side of the chest. The beard stripe is not set off from the chin and throat and, like these, is broadly dashed in white on a black background. The neck is black like the top back.

The beak is blackish or grayish black, occasionally with a horn-colored tone. Legs and toes are gray-green. The iris is red-brown or blood-red, the eye ring is green.

In the female, the forehead and front upper head are black with small white dots, the rear upper head and bonnet are red as in the male.

Vocalizations

The flight calls are screeching "kierk" , and the contact call made by the couple from a control room or in flight is a rattling screeching like "kji-kji-kji" . Birds that are very agitated during intra-species disputes give very high-pitched, squeaky calls. The drum rolls are quiet and last about two to three seconds each.

distribution and habitat

This species of woodpecker inhabits large parts of South Asia. The distribution area extends in a west-east direction from Pakistan over the south of Nepal to Assam and in the west of Myanmar , to the south it covers almost the entire Indian subcontinent as well as Sri Lanka . The size of the total distribution area is estimated at 3,010,000 km².

Orange woodpeckers inhabit a wide range of moist to dry forest types to coconut and Palmyra palm plantations by, parks, gardens and avenues; they are only missing in dense, closed forests and in arid regions. The animals occur in India from the plains up to 1700 m altitude, in Sri Lanka up to 1500 m and in western Myanmar up to about 915 m.

Systematics

The individual variation is considerable and the number of subspecies is controversial. Winkler et al. recognize four subspecies:

Dinopium benghalense benghalense ( Linnaeus , 1758) - North India to Assam. This subspecies (nominate form) is described above.
Dinopium b. dilutum ( Blyth 1852) - Pakistan. Back and upper wings paler golden yellow than in the nominate form, underside whiter.
Dinopium b. puncticolle ( Malherbe , 1845) - Central and southern India, also in the north of Sri Lanka to the south to about 8 ° N. Back and upper wings more golden yellow, throat more white spotted than dashed, rear underside of the trunk often more cream-colored beige. The size decreases steadily from north to south. The western and south-western populations are partly classified as a separate subspecies Dinopium b. tehminae separated. They show a distinct olive shade on the rump and upper wing-covers and the white spots on the outer covers are often smaller or even missing. The subspecies shows transitions to the nominate form in the north , in Sri Lanka to the following subspecies.
Dinopium b. psarodes ( Lichtenstein , 1793) - Largest part of Sri Lanka. Coloring very different from the other subspecies; The back and upper wings are deep blood-red, rump and tail-coverts often show red tips. Furthermore, the subspecies shows more black on the top of the head and especially on its sides and on the sides of the head, the black eye stripe usually extends to the neck. The throat and underside of the torso also show more black. The tail is longer in relation to the body than in the other subspecies.

Orange woodpecker, females of the nominate form in a nest cavity

nutrition

The sought throughout the tree layer and also on the ground diet consists mainly of ants of genera such as Camponotus and Meranoplus and their larvae and pupae, the birds destroy the leaf nests of very well-fortified weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina . Occasionally these woodpeckers also eat caterpillars, weevils and other beetles, as well as spiders, and regularly also fruit and nectar . Orange woodpeckers also hang from the underside of horizontal branches to forage or move backwards.

Reproduction

Orange woodpeckers live in pairs. The breeding season is different depending on the distribution area. It mainly falls on March and April, southern populations occasionally breed a second time in July and August and in Sri Lanka the species breeds almost all year round from December to September. The caves are usually built in trees with hard and soft wood at heights between 3 and 6 m or higher, the cave entrance is about 8 cm in diameter. The clutch consists of two to three eggs, which are incubated by both parents for 17-19 days. The young are supplied with food by both parents and are fully fledged after about three weeks.

Existence and endangerment

Information on the size of the world population is not available. The species is considered common to locally common, the population is estimated to be stable. The IUCN therefore classifies the orange woodpecker as safe (“least concern”).

swell

Individual evidence

↑ The Orange Woodpecker at BirdLife International (online, accessed December 28, 2010)
↑ 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. 376

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. 152-153 and 375-377.

Web links

Dinopium benghalense in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2010. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved on December 28 of 2010.