Black-headed woodpecker
Female
Male
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Picus
Species:
P. erythropygius
Binomial name
Picus erythropygius
(Elliot, 1865)

The black-headed woodpecker (Picus erythropygius) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It typically inhabits deciduous and coniferous forests and is found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Description

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Female and male black-headed woodpeckers

The black-headed woodpecker is a medium-sized bird at around 33cm tall and 100-135g.[2] Adult birds have very distinct plumage and have a black face, yellow throat, green wings, a red lower back, and a white stomach.[3] They also have white/yellow eyes and some individuals have a thin white line from their eye to their neck.[2] Males have a red crown, while females have a completely black crown with no red.[2] Juveniles are less pigmented than adults and juvenile males have fewer red crown feathers on their head.[2]

Taxonomy

The black-headed woodpecker is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae and the genus Picus. They have been considered to be most closely related to the European green woodpecker (P. viridis) and the grey-headed woodpecker (P. canus).[4] However, recent studies have challenged this original phylogenetic relationship.[5]

Subspecies

There are two recognized subspecies of the black-headed woodpecker:[6]

  • Picus erythropygius nigrigenis (Hume, 1874) - Myanmar and Northwest-West Thailand.[2] This subspecies is more commonly found and can be identified by its black bill.[2]
  • Picus erythropygius erythropygius (Elliot, 1865) - Northeast Thailand and Indochina.[2] This subspecies has a white bill, as opposed to a black one.[7]

Distribution and habitat

Black-headed woodpeckers are found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.[1] They are most commonly found in the mid-story and sub-canopy of deciduous and coniferous forests.[3][8] They usually prefer dry dipterocarp forests, semi-evergreen forests, riverine forests, and savanna forests.[9][8][10] They are also resident birds.[2]

Behaviour and ecology

Diet

Black-headed woodpecker on tree

Black-headed woodpeckers, like most woodpeckers, are insectivorous and glean insects on the bark of trees.[11] They most commonly consume termites, but they also eat ants and other insects and invertebrates. [2][11]

Vocalization

Their song is a loud series of yelps that sound similar to laughing.[3] These yelps ("ka-tek-a-tek-a-tek-a-tek" or "cha-cha-cha, cha-cha-cha") are rapidly repeated and the first note is emphasized.[2]

Reproduction

Little is known about their reproduction, but they reproduce between February-June and nest within trees.[2] They also have around 3-4 eggs.[2] In a wildlife sanctuary in Chiang Mai, their nests were occupied in May.[12]

Flocks

Black-headed woodpeckers are usually found in groups with other bird species.[2] These bird waves consist of larger flock sizes, which allow birds to worry less about predators and spend more time foraging.[13] Black-headed woodpeckers are typically found in flocks with white-crested laughingthrushes (Garrulax leucolophus), lesser necklaced laughingthrushes (Garrulax monileger), and greater racket-tailed drongos (Dicrurus paradiseus).[9][13] In these flocks, black-headed woodpeckers, along with the other birds, produce alarm calls when predators approach.[11]

Parasites

The black-headed woodpecker is vulnerable to many parasites, including avian haemoproteid parasite, Haemoproteus bennetti, which has been detected in its blood.[14] They are also susceptible to Picidae-specific parasites, including chewing lice, Picicola roberti, and quill mites, Picobia heeri, which inhabit the feather quills.[15][16]

Status and Conservation

The black-headed woodpecker is currently classified as least concern, but populations are decreasing.[1] This is mostly due to habitat destruction caused by human settlement and agricultural fields.[17]

In 2003, the black-headed woodpecker was declared a protected wildlife species by the Thai government.[18] The species is also found in many wildlife sanctuaries across Thailand.[19][20]

References

  1. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2018). "Picus erythropygius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22681481A130042305. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22681481A130042305.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Winkler, Hans; Christie, David (4 March 2020), Billerman, Shawn M.; Keeney, Brooke K.; Rodewald, Paul G.; Schulenberg, Thomas S. (eds.), "Black-headed Woodpecker (Picus erythropygius)", Birds of the World, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, doi:10.2173/bow.blhwoo1.01, S2CID 216205008, retrieved 10 November 2021
  3. 1 2 3 "Black-headed Woodpecker - eBird". ebird.org. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Fuchs, Jérôme; Pons, Jean-Marc; Ericson, Per G.P.; Bonillo, Céline; Couloux, Arnaud; Pasquet, Eric (2008). "Molecular support for a rapid cladogenesis of the woodpecker clade Malarpicini, with further insights into the genus Picus (Piciformes: Picinae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 48 (1): 34–46. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.03.036. PMID 18487062.
  5. ↑ Pons, J.-M.; Olioso, G.; Cruaud, C.; Fuchs, J. (5 October 2010). "Phylogeography of the Eurasian green woodpecker (Picus viridis)". Journal of Biogeography. 38 (2): 311–325. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02401.x. S2CID 85704825.
  6. ↑ "Picus erythropygius". ITIS - Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  7. ↑ de Schauensee, Rodolphe Meyer (1946). "On Siamese Birds". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 98: 1–82. ISSN 0097-3157. JSTOR 4064390.
  8. 1 2 Mittermeier, John C.; Sandvig, Erik M.; Jocque, Merlijn (2019). "Surveys in 2018 along the Mekong River, northern Kratie province, Cambodia, indicate a decade of declines in populations of threatened bird species". BirdingASIA. 32: 80–89.
  9. 1 2 Stott, Philip (1 September 1984). "The savanna forests of mainland southeast Asia: an ecological survey". Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment. 8 (3): 315–335. doi:10.1177/030913338400800301. ISSN 0309-1333. S2CID 130984062.
  10. ↑ Zusi, R. L.; Marshall, J. T. (1970). "A comparison of Asiatic and North American sapsuckers" (PDF). Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society. 23: 393–407.
  11. 1 2 3 Limparungpatthanakij, Wichyanan; Gale, George; Brockelman, Warren Y.; Round, Philip David (2017). "Western striped squirrel Tamiops mcclellandii: A non-avian sentinel species of bird waves". Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 65: 474–481.
  12. ↑ Round, Philip D. (1982). "Notes on Breeding Birds in North-West Thailand" (PDF). Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Soc. 30: 1–14.
  13. 1 2 Limparungpatthanakij, Wichyanan; Brockelman, Warren Y; Gale, George; Round, Philip David (2019). "Woodpeckers benefit from participation in mixed-species flocks in lowland deciduous forests, Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand". Forktail. 35: 57–59.
  14. ↑ Greiner, Ellis C; Mandal, A. K.; Nandi, N. C. (1977). "Haemoproteus bennetti sp. n. and a Review of the Haemoproteids from the Picidae (Woodpeckers)". The Journal of Parasitology. 63 (4): 651–656. doi:10.2307/3279563. JSTOR 3279563. PMID 407347.
  15. ↑ Somadder, K.; Tandan, B.K. (1975). "Chewing lice from birds of the oriental region. Part XI: Picicola Roberti, sp. nov. (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera)". Oriental Insects. 9 (1): 23–30. doi:10.1080/00305316.1975.10434840. ISSN 0030-5316.
  16. ↑ Zmudzinski, Mateusz; Unsoeld, Markus (11 March 2019). "Quill mites (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) parasitizing birds in Germany: new host records and descriptions of two new species from Limosa lapponica (L.) (Aves: Scolopacidae)". Systematic and Applied Acarology. 24 (3): 362–376. doi:10.11158/saa.24.3.3. ISSN 1362-1971. S2CID 92799823.
  17. ↑ Treesucon, Uthai; Round, Philip D. (1990). "Report on Threatened Birds in Thailand". Tiger Paper. 17 (3): 1–9.
  18. ↑ "กฎกระทรวง ก ำหนดให้สัตว์ป่ำบางชนิดเป็นสัตว์ป่ำคุ้มครอง พ.ศ. ๒๕๔๖" (PDF). กรมประมง (Department of Fisheries, Thailand). 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  19. ↑ "นกหัวขวานเขียวตะโพกแดง Black-headed Woodpecker ( Picus erythropygius (Elliot, 1865) )". Birds of the Lower Northern Thailand. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  20. ↑ Wiles, Gary J. (1979). "The Birds of Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary, Southwestern Thailand" (PDF). Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Soc. 28: 101–120.
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