Tukki Woodpecker

Tukki Woodpecker
	Tukki Woodpecker ( Meiglyptes tukki )
Systematics
Order :	Woodpecker birds (Piciformes)
Family :	Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Subfamily :	Real woodpeckers (Picinae)
Genre :	Meiglyptes
Type :	Tukki Woodpecker
Scientific name
	Meiglyptes tukki
	( Lesson , 1839)

The Tukkispecht ( meiglyptes tukki ) is a species of bird from the family of woodpeckers (Picidae). This little woodpecker is sparsely distributed over large parts of Southeast Asia. The species inhabits the original evergreen or almost evergreen tropical deciduous forest and old secondary forest with dense undergrowth and standing dead wood. The food, consisting mainly of ants and termites, is mainly sought in the lower and middle tree layers down to bushes and small trees. The population is probably declining due to the ongoing and rapidly advancing forest destruction in the entire distribution area, the Tukki pecker is therefore classified by the IUCN as a type of the warning list ("near threatened").

description

Tukki woodpeckers are small woodpeckers with a relatively small head and short tail. The small hood is hardly noticeable. The relatively long beak is strongly bent downwards at the ridge, pointed at a point and quite narrow at the base. The body length is about 21 cm, the weight 43-64 g. The species is about the size of a middle woodpecker , but a little lighter. In terms of coloration, it shows a slight gender dimorphism .

All in all, these woodpeckers are quite monochrome, dark brown with narrow whitish bands. In males of the nominate form , the entire upper surface including the upper tail-coverts, the upper tail surface and the upper wing coverts are dark olive-brown with narrow beige banding, the upper wing coverts occasionally show dark red hems. The wings are also narrowly banded in beige on a dark brown background, these bands become wider and whitish on the inside flags . The throat and upper breast are black-brown, the rest of the underside of the trunk including the under tail-coverts is narrowly banded with beige on a brown background. This banding is somewhat wider on the flanks, but often barely noticeable in the middle of the abdomen. The underside of the wings is brown, the under wing-coverts and the wing bases are lighter. The underside of the tail, like the upper side, is narrowly banded in beige on a dark olive-brown background.

The head, including the short bonnet, and the nape of the neck are single-colored, dark gray-brown to olive-brown, sometimes with an indistinct, dark streak of eyes. The beard stripe is banded red at the front, black and beige-white at the back. On the sides of the neck there is a large beige, beige-white or yellowish-beige field that extends from the lower edge of the back of the ear covers to the back of the neck. The chin and throat are banded blackish brown and beige. The upper bill is black, the lower bill clearly lighter gray or whitish. Legs and toes are gray-green to gray-brown. The iris is intense blood red, reddish brown or brown.

The only thing missing in females is the red stripe of the beard, this area, like the rest of the head, is dark gray-brown to olive-brown.

Vocalizations

The most common is a monotonous, high-pitched trill like "kirr-rr" , which can slow down towards the end and whose pitch occasionally rises at the end. In addition, individual calls such as “pii” and series of calls such as “dwit, dwit” or “ki-ti-ki-ti-ki-ti-ki-ti” and “wick-wick-wick” are known, which are uttered when conspecifics meet become. Both sexes drum, the individual drum rolls are about 12 to 60 beats and last less than one to over three seconds. The tempo is higher at the beginning of the drum roll than at the end.

distribution and habitat

The Tukki Woodpecker is sparsely distributed over large parts of Southeast Asia. The distribution area extends in a west-east direction from northwest Sumatra to the east of Borneo , in north-south direction from the south of Myanmar and Thailand to the southern tip of Sumatra. The size of the total distribution area is not exactly known.

The species inhabits the original evergreen or semi-evergreen tropical deciduous forest, old secondary forest as well as bog forests with dense undergrowth and standing dead wood . The occurrence is largely limited to the lowlands below 600 m altitude, the highest records have been made on the Southeast Asian mainland at 1200 m altitude, on the Great Sunda Islands at 1000 m altitude.

Systematics

Five hardly differentiated subspecies are recognized:

Meiglyptes tukki tukki ( Lesson , 1839) - the nominate form inhabits most of the distribution area.
Meiglyptes t. percnerpes Oberholser 1924 - South Borneo. More strongly banded than the nominate form, overall brown without olive tones, but mostly more red-brown or reddish tones.
Meiglyptes t. batu Meyer de Schauensee & Ripley 1940 - Batu Islands . Upper head blackish, more contrasting blackish spot on the chest.
Meiglyptes t. pulonis Chasen & Kloss 1929 - Banggi Island off the coast of North Borneo. The bill is much longer than that of all other subspecies, more brown and less olive overall, the throat is lighter.
Meiglyptes t. infuscatus Salvadori 1887 - Nias Island . Slightly shorter-winged than the other subspecies, the banding is weak and the light-colored bands are often barely noticeable. The top of the head is dark.

Way of life

Tukki woodpeckers can be found singly or in pairs, sometimes keeping close contact with one another and eating close together. The species is also often seen in mixed flocks with other bird species. The foraging takes place predominantly in the lower and middle tree layers down to bushes and small trees, higher tree layers are mainly sought out in the company of other bird species. The animals look for the tips of branches and tufts of leaves in the crowns of large trees, as well as larger branches and trunks in the lower tree layer and even lying dead wood. Food objects are obtained primarily by reading, more rarely by poking and chopping into dead wood. Tukki woodpeckers move quickly and usually only stay for a short time in a certain place or a certain tree.

The breeding season in Malaysia extends from May to June. The breeding caves are created at heights of 1.5 to 5 m in dead parts of living trees or in tree stumps, the clutch consists of two eggs. The nestlings are fed by both parents, the food is evidently choked out. Further information on the breeding biology is not yet available.

Existence and endangerment

There is no information on the population size, but the species is mostly considered to be quite common in its large distribution area. The stock is likely to decline due to the ongoing and rapidly advancing forest destruction in the entire distribution area. Tukki woodpeckers can still live in forests where wood has been felled, but disappear when there is no longer a closed canopy. The IUCN assumes that in the lowlands of the Great Sunda Islands all primeval forests will be destroyed by 2010. However, due to the abundance of the species in the forests on the hillside slopes, a serious threat to the species cannot be assumed. The Tukkispecht is therefore classified by the IUCN as a type of warning list ("near threatened").

swell

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b BirdLife International (2010) Species factsheet: Meiglyptes tukki . ( Online , accessed October 3, 2010)
↑ Hans Winkler, David Christie and David Nurney: Woodpeckers. A Guide to the Woodpeckers, Piculets, and Wrynecks of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge 1995: p. 388.

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. 160-161 and 388.

Web links

Meiglyptes tukki in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on 3 October of 2010.