Spotted-breasted woodpecker
| Spotted-breasted woodpecker | ||||||||||||
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Spotted-breasted woodpecker ( Colaptes p. Punctipectus ), pair, male in front |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Colaptes punctigula | ||||||||||||
| ( Boddaert , 1783) |
The spot-breasted woodpecker ( Colaptes punctigula ) is a species of bird from the family of woodpeckers (Picidae). This little woodpecker inhabits large parts of northern South America . The species inhabits a wide range of more open and semi-open wooded habitats from rainforest laubabwerfendem forest and gallery forest through secondary forest , mangrove , scrubland and clearings to coffee plantations and other plantations with sufficient trees. The food sought in the lower and middle tree layers as well as on the ground consists primarily of ants and their larvae and pupae.
The species is considered to be quite common. The world population is presumably decreasing, but the spotted-breasted woodpecker is still classified by the IUCN as 
(= least concern ) due to the size of the distribution area and the still large population .
description
Spotted-breasted woodpeckers are small woodpeckers. The beak is short, pointed, curved downwards at the ridge and narrow at the base. The body length is about 18-21 cm, the weight 50-79 g. These woodpeckers are about as big and heavy as a middle woodpecker . The species shows a slight sexual dimorphism in terms of coloration .
In males of the nominate form C. p. punctigula is almost the entire upper surface including the neck, shoulder feathers, upper wing-coverts and umbrella feathers banded brownish black on a bronze-green background. The rump has a lighter base color and is less banded. The wings are brown with clear light banding, the quills are yellow and often form a light field when the wing is on. The steering feathers, which are brown on top, show at least green to yellow bands on the outer feathers.
The sides of the neck and the underside of the trunk are dull yellow-olive, the color becomes lighter towards the tail. The chest and, less pronounced, the flanks are finely spotted with black for this reason. The under tail-coverts are yellowish with also black spots. The lower wings are pale yellowish. The lower tail is yellow-brown with brown banding.
The forehead and the front of the head are black, the back of the head and the back of the head are red. In exceptional cases, the red color extends to the front along the sides of the skull or even over the entire skull. The rein region, the area around the eyes and the ear covers are white. The beard stripe is red with black feather bases, the chin and throat are black with white spots.
The beak is blackish. Legs and toes are greenish gray with a yellow tone. The iris is reddish brown.
In the female, the back of the head and the back of the head are also red, but the beard is black.
Vocalizations
The best known call is a whistling, lined up "whew" uttered during courtship or when encounters with alien conspecifics . In such encounters, a series of “ta-wick” or “wick-a” calls are uttered in conjunction with optical signals . The alarm call is a loose series of "peek" sounds. It is apparently not known whether the species drums.
distribution and habitat
This woodpecker inhabits large parts of northern South America . The area extends in the west from Panama and north-west Colombia via the east of Peru to the north of Bolivia , to the east via Venezuela , Guyana , Suriname , French Guiana and the Amazon basin of Brazil to the states of Pará and Mato Grosso in the south-east. The size of the total distribution area is estimated at 3.37 million km².
The species inhabits a wide range of more open and semi-open wooded habitats from rainforest laubabwerfendem forest and gallery forest through secondary forest , mangrove , scrubland and clearings to coffee plantations and other plantations with sufficient trees. Spotted-breasted woodpeckers predominantly inhabit moist lowlands, in Venezuela they are found up to an altitude of 600 m, in Colombia up to an altitude of 1500 m.
Systematics
Winkler et al. recognize six subspecies:
- Colaptes p. punctigula ( Boddaert , 1783) - Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. The nominate form is described above.
- Colaptes p. striatigularis ( Chapman , 1914) - Panama and western central Colombia. Throat very white with a few black dashes, spotting on the underside quite pronounced, strong red shade on the chest and rump.
- Colaptes p. ujhelyii ( Madarász , 1912) - Northern Colombia. Very colorful, chest with red or orange, banding on the upper side greatly reduced or missing, throat as in the previous subspecies very white with few black dashes. The skull of the male can be completely red.
- Colaptes p. Zuliae ( Cory , 1915) - northwestern Venezuela. Very small subspecies. Upper side rather gloomy, relatively little black on the throat, sparse chest spots.
- Colaptes p. punctipectus ( Cabanis & Heine , 1863) - Venezuela with the exception of the northwest. Upper side green without bronze tone, lower side gloomy with few numerous and small black spots, throat predominantly black with large white spots.
- Colaptes p. guttatus ( Spix , 1824) - Amazon basin . Breast overall very olive and relatively sparse black spots on the underside, rump color less contrasting with the rest of the color on the upper side, throat black with large white spots.
Way of life
Spotted-breasted woodpeckers are usually observed in pairs or in family groups. The food sought in the lower and middle tree layers as well as on the ground consists primarily of ants and their larvae and pupae. They obtain food objects on trees mainly by poking and reading, occasionally also by light chopping. On the ground, spotted woodpeckers poke in the ground and throw leaves and twigs aside with their beak.
In Colombia, reproduction takes place from October to May, in Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana from June to August, in the Amazon basin from April to October and in Peru from February to September. The breeding caves are created by both partners in living or dead trees, but also in fence posts. Further information on the breeding biology is not yet available.
Existence and endangerment
Estimates of the size of the world population are not yet available. The world population is presumably decreasing, but the spotted-breasted woodpecker is still classified by the IUCN as harmless (“least concern”) due to the size of the distribution area and the still large population.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ The spotted-breasted woodpecker at BirdLife International . Retrieved February 16, 2013.
- ↑ 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. 317
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. 120-121 and 317-318.
Web links
- Colaptes punctigula in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2013. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Accessed February 16, 2013.
Other web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Colaptes punctigula in the Internet Bird Collection