Red-eared woodpecker

Red-eared woodpecker
	Red- eared woodpecker ( Blythipicus pyrrhotis )
Systematics
Order :	Woodpecker birds (Piciformes)
Family :	Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Subfamily :	Real woodpeckers (Picinae)
Genre :	Blythipicus
Type :	Red-eared woodpecker
Scientific name
	Blythipicus pyrrhotis
	( Hodgson , 1837)

The Rotohrspecht ( blythipicus pyrrhotis ) is a species of bird from the family of woodpeckers(Picidae). This medium-sized and generally very darkly colored woodpecker lives in large parts of South and Southeast Asia. The species is closely tied to the forest with dense and not very translucent undergrowth, where it is usually only a few meters above the ground, but also rises to the middle tree layer. The diet consists mainly of termites, ants, large larvae of wood-dwelling beetles and other insects, and these woodpeckers occasionally eat berries. In large parts of its large distribution area, the species is considered to be less common and only locally as more common, the population is apparently stable. The IUCN therefore classifies the red-eared woodpecker as harmless (“least concern”).

description

Red-eared woodpeckers are medium-sized woodpeckers with a short tail and a long, straight, chisel-shaped, pointed beak that is very broad at the base. The body length is about 30 cm, the weight in birds of the nominate form 126–170 g. This means that they are only slightly smaller, but significantly lighter than a green woodpecker . The species shows a clear sexual dimorphism in terms of coloration , females also have a shorter beak than the males.

These woodpeckers are probably in adaptation to their low-light habitat overall quite monochrome dark brown to reddish brown, but more contrasting than the second species of the genus, the chestnut woodpecker . In the male of the nominate form, shoulder feathers, back, rump and upper tail-coverts are dark red-brown with rather narrow blackish banding and very narrow light shaft strokes. This drawing is often barely noticeable in the freshly moulted plumage, but becomes more and more clear as the feathers wear off. Black and red-brown bandages are almost equally wide on the upper tail coverts.

The upper wing coverts also show almost equally wide black and red-brown bands, on the wings the black bands are significantly narrower and often have a reddish or red-brown tone. The top of the control feathers is a little lighter reddish brown with narrow and widely spaced black bands, which can sometimes be missing.

The underside of the torso is monochrome dark brown from the chest down and has a clear reddish brown tinge. The lower belly and rear flanks are usually indistinctly banded with rust-colored bands. The under tail-coverts show a black banding on a dark red-brown background. The lower wings and tail are drawn like the upper sides, but lighter overall.

The forehead, the rein stripes as well as the chin and throat are light brownish beige, the ear covers are somewhat darker with light dashes. The top of the head, the short bonnet and the nape of the neck are dark brown with reddish brown or beige dashes of varying degrees. The sides of the neck and often also some feathers in the nape are bright blood red.

The beak is pale yellow to greenish yellow, gray-greenish at the base. Legs and toes are gray-black with a faint yellowish tinge. The iris is red-brown.

Females lack the red areas on the sides of their necks, making the head appear lighter than the rest of the plumage.

Vocalizations

The most frequent calls are mostly lined up and then varying in tempo and pitch "pit" or "dit" sounds, not unlike the noises when starting a steam engine . Typical is a series of calls of up to 24 long calls such as "kwää" , which fall along the scale and become shorter towards the end of the series of calls. The contact between the couple is maintained by a somewhat slower, ascending and descending series of calls of 9 to 13 sounds such as "pii-pii-pii-pii-pii-pii-pii-pii-pii-ä" . This series of calls is very far-reaching and probably also serves as a district song. Red-eared woodpeckers apparently don't drum.

distribution and habitat

This species of woodpecker inhabits large parts of Southeast Asia. The distribution area extends in west-east direction from the northern foot of the Himalayas in central Nepal to the southeast Chinese province of Fujian , in north-south direction from Nepal and about 27 ° N in China to south Assam , northern Thailand and the North Indochina . Isolated and mountainous disjoint occurrences exist south of this in Malaysia , in south Vietnam and on Hainan . The size of the total distribution area is not exactly known; It is probably larger than previously assumed, as the species is often overlooked due to its hidden way of life.

Red-eared woodpeckers are closely tied to forests with dense and less translucent undergrowth. They mainly inhabit the evergreen rainforest and mixed forests with deciduous trees or bamboo . The animals are largely restricted to the hills and mountains and are usually found at heights between 600 and 2200 m, but occasionally also at the foot of hills and in Thailand, in the north of Annam and in Vietnam also up to sea level. In Nepal the species is most common at altitudes between 1500 and 2500 m, in Myanmar it has been detected up to an altitude of 2750 m.

Systematics

Five subspecies are recognized:

Blythipicus pyrrhotis pyrrhotis ( Hodgson , 1837) ; western part of the distribution area, east to Laos , Yunnan and Sichuan
Blythipicus p. sinensis ( Rickett , 1897) ; Southeast China from Guizhou and Guangxi to the east to Fujian . Overall lighter than the nominate shape, often with narrow, light beige dashes on the chest, the banding on the upper side tending to be more cinnamon brown.
Blythipicus p. annamensis Kinnear , 1926 ; Highlands in southern Vietnam. Underside much darker than in the previous subspecies, almost blackish and mostly without banding, upper side much more rusty brown. Red plumage on the head less extensive than in the nominate form.
Blythipicus p. hainanus ( Ogilvie-Grant , 1899) ; Hainans Mountains . Small and with a short beak. Underside less slate black and more brown.
Blythipicus p. cameroni Robinson , 1928 ; Malaysian highlands. As dark as Blythipicus p. annamensis , but males with even less red on the head.

Way of life

The species is usually only a few meters above the ground, but also rises to the middle tree layer. The food sought on living trees as well as lying and standing decaying dead wood of all sizes, young trees, lianas and bamboo consists mainly of termites, ants, large larvae of wood-dwelling beetles and other insects, and these woodpeckers also eat berries occasionally. The animals quickly and quietly chop deep holes in rotting wood, poke into crevices and remove moss and other epiphytes with their bills, and occasionally they also hunt flying insects.

Red-eared woodpeckers live individually or in pairs. The breeding season extends from May to June, but may begin as early as January. The caves are created low at heights between 1 and 4 m in living trees or dead wood. The clutch consists of two to three, sometimes four eggs, both partners incubate and care for the nestlings. Further information on the breeding biology is not yet available.

Existence and endangerment

There is no information on the size of the population. In large parts of its large distribution area, the species is considered to be less common and only locally as more common, the population is apparently stable. The IUCN therefore classifies the red-eared woodpecker as harmless (“least concern”).

swell

Individual evidence

↑ BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Blythipicus pyrrhotis . ( Online , accessed September 8, 2010)
↑ Hans Winkler, David 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 : p. 384.
↑ Hans Winkler, David Christie and David Nurney: Woodpeckers. A Guide to the Woodpeckers, Piculets, and Wrynecks of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge 1995: p. 384.

literature

Hans Winkler , David 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. 158-159 and 383-385.

Web links

Blythipicus pyrrhotis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Retrieved on 7 September, 2010.