Scaled dwarf woodpecker

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Scaled dwarf woodpecker
Scaled Piculet Telegrafista Escamado (Picumnus squamulatus rohli) (♀) 2.jpg

Scaled dwarf woodpecker ( Picumnus squamulatus )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Woodpecker birds (Piciformes)
Family : Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Subfamily : Dwarf woodpeckers (Picumninae)
Genre : Picumnus
Type : Scaled dwarf woodpecker
Scientific name
Picumnus squamulatus
Lafresnaye , 1854

The scaled piculet ( Picumnus squamulatus ) is a species of bird in the family of woodpeckers (Picidae). The species has a large range that includes the South American countries Venezuela and Colombia . The IUCN assesses the population as Least Concern .

features

The scaled dwarf woodpecker reaches a body length of about 8.9 centimeters and a weight of about 11 grams. The vertex and nape of the head are black, with the male parting orange to red and the nape being dashed white. In the female, all lines are white. The top is light sand brown. The underside is whitish and has a clear, dark scale pattern everywhere. The arm wings are lined with olive yellow.

distribution and habitat

Its natural habitat ranges from dry and moist forests to gallery forests to forest clearings and bushes in a degraded state. It can even be observed in cultivated landscapes with isolated trees. It occurs at altitudes of up to 1800 meters, but is usually found below 1000 meters.

behavior

The scaled dwarf woodpeckers move alone or mostly in loose pairs, sometimes even in mixed groups. They jump or hang sideways along small branches and twigs or vines. Usually they are in the strata between 2 and 8 meters. They often rest on dead branches or tree stumps to peck for insects in the undergrowth of the bark. Their behavior is extremely territorial and they defend their territory against intruders. They build their nests in small caves in dead or very soft wood. Breeding pairs are monogamous, with both sexes participating in the incubation of the eggs and the rearing of the young birds.

Subspecies

Five subspecies have been described, which differ in their coloration, size and range:

  • Picumnus squamulatus squamulatus Lafresnaye , 1854. Nominate form , is at home in northeastern and central Colombia. You can find them in the southern part of Araucas to Huila and in the northeast of Metas .
  • Picumnus squamulatus roehli Zimmer & Phelps , 1944. This subspecies is clearly whiter than the nominate form on the underside and the dark scales are less prominent. They can be found in Colombia in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the Boyacá department to the north of Venezuela. In Venezuela, the distribution area extends from the east of the state of Zulia to the west of Sucres and Monagas '.
  • Picumnus squamulatus obsoletus Allen , 1892. Is somewhat smaller than the nominate form, while the overall color appears more yellow. There are almost no scales to be seen. Occurs in the extreme northeast of Venezuela in the eastern part of Sucres.
  • Picumnus squamulatus apurensis Phelps, WH & Aveledo , 1987. This subspecies is whitest on the underside and has no scales. It is present in northern central Venezuela in the federal states of Apure, Guárico and Anzoátegui on the Zuata and Pariaguán rivers.
  • Picumnus squamulatus lovejoyi Phelps, WH & Aveledo , 1987. This subspecies is somewhat lighter and grayer and only indistinctly scaled. The points on the neck are yellow. It occurs only in the extreme northwest of Venezuela in the northwest of the state of Zulia.

Etymology and history of research

Frédéric de Lafresnaye described the woodpecker under its current name Picumnus squamulatus . In 1825 Coenraad Jacob Temminck had separated the genus "Picumnus" from the genus "Picus" (Latin for woodpecker). "Picumnus" is the diminutive of "Picus" because the dwarf woodpeckers are much smaller. The specific epithet squamulatus also comes from Latin and means something like "small scales". The name of the subspecies roehli was given in honor of Eduardo Röhl (1891-1959), the director of the Caracas Astronomical Observatory. The word obsoletus is of Latin origin and means "shabby, simple, worn". The word apurensis is supposed to describe the state of Apure , in which the type specimen was collected. Finally, lovejoyi honors the biologist and environmentalist Thomas Eugene Lovejoy III .

literature

  • Steven Leon Hilty , William Leroy Brown : A guide to the birds of Colombia . Princeton University Press, Princeton 1986, ISBN 978-0-691-09250-8 .
  • Steven Leon Hilty, John A. Gwynne, Guy Tudor : Birds of Venezuela . Princeton University Press, Princeton 2002, ISBN 978-0-691-09250-8 .
  • James A. Jobling: A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1991, ISBN 978-0-19-854634-4 .
  • Frédéric de Lafresnaye: Sur une nouvelle espèce du genre Picumnus. Temminck . In: Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée . tape 6 , 1854, pp. 208 ( online [accessed September 4, 2011]).
  • John Todd Zimmer, William Henry Phelps: New species and subspecies of birds from Venezuela . In: American Museum novitates . No. 1270 , 1944, pp. 1–16 ( online [PDF; accessed September 4, 2011]).
  • Joel Asaph Allen: Notice of some Venezuelan Birds, collected by Mrs. HH Smith . In: Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History . tape 4 , no. 5 , 1892, p. 51–56 ( online [PDF; accessed September 4, 2011]).
  • William Henry Phelps, Jr., Ramón Aveledo Hostos: Cinco nuevas subespecies de aves (Rallidae, Trochilidae, Picidae, Furnariidae) y tres extensiones de distribución para Venezuela . In: Boletín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales . tape 41 , no. 144 , 1987, pp. 7-26 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Steven Leon Hilty, William Leroy Brown, p. 445
  2. ↑ a b c Steven Leon Hilty, John A. Gwynne et al., P. 332
  3. ^ Overseas Museum
  4. ↑ a b Frédéric de Lafresnaye, p. 208
  5. ↑ a b c d e Internet Bird Collection
  6. ↑ a b John Todd Zimmer et al., P. 6
  7. ↑ a b Joel Asaph Allen, p. 55
  8. ↑ a b William Henry Phelps, Jr et al., P. 17
  9. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 183
  10. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 163