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forehead
crown
nape
throat
neck
breast
lesser coverts
mantle belly
median coverts flank
greater coverts
scapulars
back
vent
uppertail coverts
primaries
tail
lores
supercilium orbital ring
nasal tuft
post-ocular stripe upper mandible
lower mandible
hindneck
Habitat
Most woodpeckers are arboreal. Lowland tropical rain-
forests are home to the majority of species, but many
other closed and open wooded habitats, from sea-level
to the tree-line, are inhabited globally. Many wood-
peckers are habitat specialists, with precise habitat
needs; some are strongly associated with deciduous
forests, others with coniferous, whilst some are asso-
ciated with particular tree species. For example, in
Europe Middle Spotted Woodpecker distribution is
closely linked with the presence of old oakwoods whilst
in North America the numbers of Acorn Woodpecker
vary according to the abundance and even the
fruiting of oaks. In tropical regions Rufous-headed,
Kaempfers, Pale-headed and Bamboo Woodpeckers
and several piculets are associated with bamboo.
Many flickers and Picus species occur in wooded grass-
lands, the likes of Bennetts, Fine-spotted and Nubian
Woodpeckers in woodland savanna and Little Grey
and Arabian Woodpeckers survive in sparsely wooded
arid country. Gila, Ladder-backed and White-fronted
Woodpeckers and Gilded Flicker are some that inhabit
cacti-dotted deserts.However, across the world there
are many adaptable species that can exploit man-made A male Black-cheeked Woodpecker Melanerpes pucherani
habitats such as plantations, orchards and urban parks on a rotting snag. Dead and decaying timber is invariably rich
and gardens. Such species are better able to adapt and with invertebrate life, and is thus an important element in the
habitats of most woodpeckers. Atlantida, Honduras, February
bounce back after habitat loss. For example, in North
(Greg R. Homel).
America numbers of Pileated Woodpecker declined in
the early 20th century following habitat loss, due in part to commercial tree felling; however, they have adapted
to other habitats and new growth forest and numbers have recovered. Regardless, forest-dwelling species invari-
ably need decaying or dead wood on which to forage. Remarkably, some woodpeckers are entirely terrestrial,
having adapted to do without trees entirely; Ground Woodpecker in southern Africa and Andean Flicker in South
America both inhabit treeless terrain such as rocky hillsides and montane grasslands.
An anting Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius. Anting is a specialised behaviour, where birds allow ants to swarm over them
and squirt formic acid onto the plumage. The function of anting is unclear, but it is generally thought to be a form of comfort
behaviour, the acid acting as a pesticide and fungicide. South Korea, April (Un-Hoi Jung).
Behaviour
Generalising on the behaviour of woodpeckers is difficult as a great variety of traits exists within the family and
numerous exceptions to the more common ones also exist. However, the behaviour of all species is strongly
mirrored in their morphology.
Most woodpeckers are feisty and aggressive to others of their kind, even to their partner during the breeding
season. Indeed, some elements of antagonistic and courtships displays are very similar. Most disputes involve bill
pointing, head swinging, wing spreading and flicking, noisy chases and bouts of aggressive calling or drumming.
It is not unusual for rivals to freeze for a while in an apparent stand-off before resuming their dispute. In serious
conflicts, the formidable bill is jabbed at opponents, although actual full contact is rare. Such behaviour may
also be employed against predators and nest-hole competitors. In most displays, coloured badges on the head,
wings or rump are invariably exhibited. Such badges are no doubt important in establishing sex in species where
sexual dimorphism in plumage is minimal and they also probably illustrate the physical condition of individuals.
Courtships displays typically involve raising the crown feathers or crest and fluttering flights. Mated pairs may
touch bills, which is probably a form of symbolic feeding.
A male Golden-cheeked
Woodpecker Melanerpes
chrysogenys, with his
crown-feathers raised.
Many woodpeckers,
particularly males, have
brightly coloured areas on
the head that are erected
and flaunted during
courtship displays and
conflicts. Jalisco, Mexico,
December (Greg R. Homel).
Many species are generally solitary, usually only interacting to breed or when defending feeding sites, although
in the tropics woodpeckers, including most piculets, are more likely to be seen in pairs. A few species migrate in
groups and some, such as Magellanic Woodpecker in South America, Great Slaty Woodpecker in Asia and some
species of Melanerpes and Colaptes, are gregarious, even social, living in extended family parties.
All woodpeckers are diurnal and usually roost overnight inside cavities, which may be specially made for this
purpose or double as nest-holes. Most species roost alone, and will even oust relatives from their favoured roost hole,
but some do roost communally with several individuals sleeping together in one cavity (e.g. Acorn and Magellanic
Woodpeckers) or several individuals using a cluster of cavities (e.g. Greater Flameback, Red-cockaded and Grey-
and-buff Woodpeckers). In SE Asia Grey-and-buff Woodpecker makes concentrations of numerous roost-holes
that are much shallower than the holes made for nesting and are only used for roosting. In South America the
Andean Flicker also commonly roosts communally in holes made in abandoned native huts and houses.
Female (in the air) and male (on the ground) Syrian Woodpeckers Dendrocopos syriacus, engaged in a feisty encounter. When
woodpeckers of the same species interact, it is often unclear whether they are indulging in courtship or in a dispute. Durankulak,
Bulgaria, April (Mladen Vasilev).
A typical woodpecker day is spent foraging. Searching for food is, of course, more intense when there are
nestlings to feed, but the overall time spent is generally less than that of birds that do not roost overnight in cavi-
ties. Food-rich resources, such as ant and termite colonies, beetle infested dead timber or a fruiting tree, can be
revisited until the supply is exhausted and the non-social species defend such sites from other woodpeckers.
Breeding
All woodpeckers breed in cavities. The majority nest in holes they have purposely excavated in trees (these species
are the so-called primary cavity-excavators). Holes are usually made in living trees but in areas of soft or rotten
wood surrounded by a harder shell. They are usually located high above ground level, though many piculets nest
low down, and on smooth boughs or branches away from vegetation. However, some species, like Gilded Flicker
and Ladder-backed Woodpecker, will nest in cacti
while others, like Rufous and White-browed Piculets
and Bamboo Woodpecker, in bamboo. Ground
Woodpecker and Andean Flicker excavate cavities
in earth banks and rocky slopes, Campo Flicker in
termite mounds and Rufous Woodpeckers in arboreal
ant nests. Others still will nest in fenceposts and utility
poles, occupy man-provided nest-boxes and sometimes
even create cavities in buildings.
A typical tree cavity consists of an entrance hole of
about the same diameter as the woodpeckers body
which leads to a wider vertical chamber. Successful
nests may be reused. Material from outside the cavity
is not used to form a nest, though wood chips from the
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
The secret life within the breeding chamber of a pair of Downy Woodpeckers Picoides pubescens revealed. Woodpecker eggs
are white, and lie on only a few wood chips (a); hatchlings are naked and lack down (b); the eyes, beaks and limbs of nestlings
develop relatively rapidly (c); woodpeckers are good parents, diligently feeding and brooding their young until they leave the
security of the cavity (d). Minnesota, United States (Stan Tekiela).
walls of the chamber may litter the floor. The wrynecks and Antillean Piculet do not excavate their own cavities,
but use those of other species or natural tree holes. Though they are often discreet around their nesting cavity,
woodpeckers inextricably make no attempt to conceal the locations of their nesting holes by removing or hiding
the debris that results from excavation. Wood-chips are usually simply tossed out from the hole and lie below the
nesting tree where they are obvious evidence of a cavity above.
Most woodpeckers are monogamous breeders, although polygamy is known to occur in, for example, Lesser
Spotted and Eurasian Three-toed Woodpeckers, and polyandry in West Indian Woodpecker and Northern Flicker.
It is likely that non-monogamous pairings occur to a much greater extent than presumed. Cooperative breeding,
often involving helpers at the nest, has been well-documented in species as diverse as Acorn, Red-cockaded,
Ground and Great Slaty Woodpeckers.
As with most cavity breeders, woodpecker eggs are white and, though exceptions occur, woodpeckers lay
just one clutch and raise only one brood annually. Average clutch size and incubation and fledging periods vary
between species. Woodpeckers are also one of the few bird families where males incubate the eggs and brood
nestlings overnight. In fact, males are involved extensively in the breeding period, doing most of the nest-hole
excavation and often more incubation and feeding of the young than females. Both sexes work to keep the nesting
chamber clean by removing the fecal sacs of nestlings, which are carried in the bill and (unlike woodchips)
dropped away from the nesting tree. Nestlings are often noisy, begging for food with repeated chugging calls
from deep within the chamber. Once out of the nest, most young woodpeckers must soon fend for themselves
as parents can quickly lose interest in feeding them, though inevitably there are exceptions adult Hispaniolan
Woodpeckers continue to feed their offspring for several months and amongst the social species helpers also
assist in feeding their relatives. Cavity nests deter most predators, although arboreal snakes are an exception, and
in Africa many woodpeckers have become the brood-hosts of honeyguides. Yet overall, like most cavity-breeding
birds, woodpeckers have higher levels of breeding success than birds that nest in the open.
Many woodpeckers
sport a crest of some
kind, or at least a colourful
face or head pattern, but
few can rival the male
Blond-crested Woodpecker
Celeus flavescens when it
comes to impressive head-
gear. Itanhaem, Brazil, May
(Ronald Gruijters).
Sexual dimorphism
The majority of woodpeckers are sexually dimorphic
in plumage (males and females look different). This
dimorphism usually involves the existence and extent of
coloured (often red or yellow) areas on the crown, nape
or in a malar stripe (the malar is an important plumage
feature for many woodpeckers). Such coloured mark-
ings vary in extent, with males generally showing more
colour than females, but for most species the differ-
ences are slight. Exceptions, where the sexes differ
greatly, are Williamsons Sapsucker in North America
and Orange-backed Woodpecker in south-east Asia. On
the other hand, males and females of the two wrynecks,
Red-breasted Sapsucker and Lewiss, Red-headed,
Guadeloupe and Middle Spotted Woodpeckers, are
sexually monochromatic (visually almost identical). In
addition, there are also differences in size, weight and
wing, tail and bill lengths between the sexes with males
generally larger than females in true woodpeckers and
the reverse in piculets. Such anatomical differences
can be difficult to see in the field and relate to feeding
ecology where the sexes use different foraging tech-
niques and habitat niches.
Juvenile Golden-
cheeked Woodpecker;
duskier below than the
adult, and the red and
yellow areas are duller.
This bird is of the race
flavinuchus. Oaxaca,
Mexico, March (Nick
Athanas).
chk, chk, chk-chk, chk and rattling dee-dee-dee or kee-kee-kee Taxonomy and variation Four races: nivosa
trill which fades and falls away. A slurred, melancholic, (Senegambia to Nigeria, Gabon, W DR Congo, NW
falling peeer, pheeu, preeew or wiurrrr and a thin, whining, Zambia, NW Angola); maxima (Ivory Coast) much
wailing weeeooooo that rises as it ends. Te-te-te-te contact like nominate but larger; poensis (Bioko Island)
notes, repeated rapidly in disputes, paler overall, more barred on chest and breast, tail
Drumming Brief, rapid rolls of 36 strikes per second. and uppertail-coverts yellower; herberti (C African
Status Population considered stable but data lacking. Republic, SW Sudan, E DR Congo, Rwanda, S and W
Not uncommon across much of vast range but, due to Uganda, W Kenya: Mt Elgon, Kakamega and S Nandi
size, habits and habitat used, probably overlooked. Forests) lighter, greener above, buffer below, boldly
Habitat Wide range of dry and wet, upland and spotted on breast, more barred on belly, undertail
lowland tropical forests with dense understorey. Also yellowish. Intergrades occur.
secondary growth, gallery forests, wooded swamps, Similar species Sympatric Brown-eared Woodpecker
savanna, shrub-thickets, plantations, mangroves and larger and has dark ear-covert patch.
rural gardens. Food and foraging Forages at most levels in trees,
Range Africa. Mainly in mid-west, either side of the bushes, vines, even low in undergrowth for termites
Equator, from Senegambia to Angola, E to W Kenya, and ants, particularly Crematogaster species. Nest-holes
though scattered. Isolated population on Bioko Island, also often excavated in termitaria and arboreal ant
Gulf of Guinea. On mainland usually below 1800m. nests. Joins mixed-species foraging flocks.
Resident and sedentary.
streaked; both sexes have black crown spotted white, (some in Tonkin, Vietnam). Occurs in Korea and
often streaked orange or red, less so on females. vagrants, usually in September, have occurred in Hong
Vocalisations Quite vocal, making a range of fast, Kong, Japan and Mongolia. From 500m to over 4000m.
chattering calls: high-pitched tik-tik-tik; excited kirridick Altitudinal movements in Himalayas.
or kirritrick wavering in pitch; rattling chit-chit-chit-r-r-r- Taxonomy and variation Sometimes placed in the
r-h; and twicca-twicca-wicca-wicca. Alarm call a nervous monospecific genus Hypopicus. Individual variation
titi-r-r-r-r and, when agitated, a rapid volley of harsh in underpart colour. Four races: hyperythrus (Nepal E
ptikitititit chatter. to SE Tibet, Bhutan, SW China, Burma (Myanmar),
Drumming Both sexes drum. Brief, understated roll Bangladesh); marshalli (NE Pakistan, Kashmir, N
that accelerates before dropping in pitch. India) larger than nominate and more chestnut below,
Status Rather thinly distributed and often male has red crown extending onto neck; annamensis
uncommon. Probably declining due to habitat change (E Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, S Vietnam) smaller but
and loss. bill longer, less red on head; subrufinus (SE Russia,
Habitat Varies across range. Mainly damp subtropical Ussuriland, Manchuria, wintering S China) larger,
jungle and upland temperate coniferous, broadleaved paler below, browner on face, vent pinkish.
and mixed forests. Similar species None: unmistakable within range.
Range SE Asia. Fragmented: breeds Himalayas, SE Food and foraging Insects, often arboreal ants.
Russia and NE China (possibly NW Thailand) and Usually forages alone. Also drills sap-wells, having
Indochina. Most sedentary, though subrufinus (NE favourite trees that are used for years hence old alter-
China and SE Russia) migrates to winter in S China native name Rufous-bellied Sapsucker.