Black-breasted woodpecker

Black-breasted woodpecker
	Black-breasted Woodpecker ( Celeus torquatus )
Systematics
Order :	Woodpecker birds (Piciformes)
Family :	Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Subfamily :	Real woodpeckers (Picinae)
Genre :	Celeus
Type :	Black-breasted woodpecker
Scientific name
	Celeus torquatus
	( Boddaert , 1783)

The Black-breasted woodpecker ( Celeus torquatus ) is a species of bird from the family of woodpeckers (Picidae). The distribution area of this medium-sized and contrastingly colored woodpecker covers large parts of central northern South America . The species inhabits moist tropical forests with tall trees and occurs in the rainforest, in gallery forests as well as in old secondary forests and in the edge areas of clear-cuts. Very little is known about the way of life of the black-breasted woodpecker. The foraging for food apparently takes place mainly on tree trunks, so far ants and seeds have been identified as food.

The species is considered rare and the population trend is likely to be declining. Due to the size of the distribution area and the probably still large total population, the IUCN currently classifies the black-breasted woodpecker as harmless ("least concern").

description

Black-breasted woodpeckers are medium-sized and contrastingly colored woodpeckers with a distinct crest . The beak is long, chisel-shaped, almost straight and relatively broad at the base. The body length is about 26-28 cm, the weight 107-134 g. This makes these woodpeckers about as big and heavy as the white-backed woodpecker . The species shows a clear sexual dimorphism in terms of coloration .

In males of the nominate form C. t. torquatus , the uppermost back is black. The entire remaining upper side including the upper tail-coverts, upper wing-coverts and shoulder feathers is reddish brown. For this reason, the upper wing covers usually show a black subterminal band or black V-shaped drawings, the shoulder feathers have one or two black bands, sometimes more. Occasionally some black feathers can still be found on the upper back. The wings are banded black and rust-brown, on the arm wings the rust-brown part predominates. The upper tail is also reddish brown, it shows a narrow black banding and a wider black tip on this basis.

In continuation of the black lower throat and the equally colored uppermost back, the breast is also black, the rest of the underside of the torso is sharply set off in a monochrome cinnamon beige. The wings are cinnamon beige underneath with a weak band on the hand wings. The lower tail is colored roughly like the upper tail.

The head, including the hood, neck, chin and upper throat, is almost monochrome, pale reddish brown with a shade of cinnamon, occasionally the forehead and sides of the head show a shade of red. The red stripe of beard extends to the lower edge of the ear covers. A black line runs from the rear lower edge of the beard strip to the black color on the chest and back, and the lower throat is also black.

The bill is gray to yellowish gray or pale olive yellowish brown, the lower bill is lighter. Legs and toes are dark gray. The iris is red to reddish brown or brown.

Females lack the red streak of beard.

Vocalizations

The only utterances described so far are loud, whistling calls like “kuu kuu kuu kuu” or “peeee peeee peeee” .

distribution and habitat

The distribution area of the black-breasted woodpecker covers large parts of central northern South America . The area of the species extends in the west from the east of Colombia , Venezuela and the Guayanas through Ecuador and the east of Peru to the north of Bolivia . In the east, the distribution extends into the Amazon region of Brazil in the provinces of Mato Grosso and Maranhão . In addition, there is a disjoint area in the forests on the Atlantic coast of eastern Brazil in the provinces of Bahia and Espirito Santo . The size of the total distribution area is estimated at 5.87 million km².

The species inhabits moist tropical forests with tall trees and occurs in the rainforest, in gallery forests as well as in old secondary forests and in the edge areas of clear-cuts. The height distribution of the black-breasted woodpecker ranges from 100 to 500 m.

Systematics

Winkler et al. recognize three well-differentiated subspecies:

Celeus t. torquatus ( Boddaert 1783) - From the east of Venezuela via the Guayanas to the Pará province in northeastern Brazil. The nominate form is described above.
Celeus t. occidentalis ( Hargitt 1889) - southern Venezuela, eastern Colombia, western and central Amazon region of Brazil, eastern Peru and northern Bolivia. The upper side and upper wing are more banded than in the nominate shape, but the banding is variable and sometimes quite weak. Underside of the trunk from the lower breast to the lower tail covers much more white with medium to strong banding, the upper back banded in black or more often reddish brown and black. Head a bit darker with a stronger cinnamon tone.
Celeus t. tinnunculus ( Wagler 1829) - Disjoint area on the Atlantic coast of eastern Brazil in the provinces of Bahia and Espirito Santo . Similar to the previous subspecies, but the head lighter and the top and bottom banded even more, the banding of the wings is much wider. The outer control springs are predominantly black. The red-brown color on the top is usually a little brighter.

Way of life

Very little is known about the way of life of the black-breasted woodpecker. The foraging for food apparently takes place mainly on tree trunks, the species is therefore often observed in the lower and middle tree layers. However, there is also evidence of individuals high up in the canopy area of trees. Black-breasted woodpeckers are likely to chop vigorously and frequently. So far, ants and seeds have been identified as food. The breeding biology is so far unknown.

Existence and endangerment

There are no estimates of the size of the world population. The species is considered rare and the population trend is likely to be declining. Due to the size of the distribution area and the probably still large total population, the IUCN currently classifies the black-breasted woodpecker as harmless ("least concern").

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Individual evidence

↑ The Black Breasted Woodpecker at BirdLife International . Retrieved December 20, 2012.
↑ 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. 336

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. 130-131 and 335-336.

Web links

Celeus torquatus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Accessed December 19, 2012 found.