Elliot's woodpecker
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Dendropicos
Species:
D. elliotii
Binomial name
Dendropicos elliotii
(Cassin, 1863)
Synonyms
  • Chloropicus elliotii

Elliot's woodpecker (Dendropicos elliotii) is a species of bird in the family Picidae.[2][3] It has an extremely wide range and is described as an uncommon species. However, no particular threats to this species have been established, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]

Description

Elliot's woodpecker is a medium-sized species growing to a length of between 20 and 22 cm (8 and 9 in). The face is buff with a black forehead and front part of the crown, and a white neck and throat, narrowly streaked with olive. The male has a red rear part of the crown and a red nape. The female lacks the red crown and nape, having a black crown and nape instead. Both sexes have plain green upper parts with a bronze or brownish tinge. The wings and upper side of the tail are brown, the feathers of the former having bronze-green margins, and the latter having green edges. The breast and belly are yellowish or whitish, streaked with olive, and barred with olive on the flanks.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Elliot's woodpecker is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda. Its typical habitat is dense primary forest but it sometimes occurs in mature secondary growth. Although mainly a lowland bird, it occurs at altitudes of up to 2,320 m (7,600 ft) in thick, mossy montane forest.[4]

Ecology

This woodpecker is normally seen by itself or in pairs, but sometimes joins small mixed species groups. It forages in the canopy and in the lower storeys of the forest, pecking and probing deeply into mosses and other epiphytes. It explores trees briefly, soon flitting on to others. The diet is mainly insects, especially beetle larvae.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Dendropicos elliotii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22727114A94941492. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22727114A94941492.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Woodpeckers". World Bird List Version 5.4. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  3. ↑ Fuchs, J.; Pons, J.M. (2015). "A new classification of the pied woodpeckers assemblage (Dendropicini, Picidae) based on a comprehensive multi-locus phylogeny". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 88: 28–37. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.03.016. PMID 25818851.
  4. 1 2 3 Hans Winkler; David A. Christie (2010). Woodpeckers. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-4081-3504-4.
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