Bearded woodpecker | |
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Female at Maasai Mara, Kenya | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Piciformes |
Family: | Picidae |
Genus: | Chloropicus |
Species: | C. namaquus |
Binomial name | |
Chloropicus namaquus (Lichtenstein, AAH, 1793) | |
Synonyms | |
Thripias namaquus |
The bearded woodpecker (Chloropicus namaquus) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It has a distinctive black and white head and brownish barred body. It is native to tropical central Africa. It has an extremely wide range and is a fairly common species, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern". [1] Some taxonomic authorities place this species in Dendropicos .
The bearded woodpecker is one of the largest woodpeckers in Africa growing to a length of about 25 cm (10 in). The head is distinctive with a black moustache, a broad black eye-stripe and black crown contrasting with a white supercilium, face, chin and throat. The male has a red hind crown which the female lacks. The mantle is black and the rest of the upper parts are yellowish-brown with narrow white barring. The tail is brown, barred white, the feathers having yellowish shafts. The underparts are grey with narrow white barring. The beak is large and greyish-black, the legs grey and the eyes red. Juveniles are similar to adults but the upper parts have a greenish tinge and more diffuse barring, and both sexes have some red colouring on the crown and nape. [2]
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. [1] It has a wide range of habitat types including woodland with sizeable trees, Brachystegia woodland, Euphorbia and Acacia woodland, the fringes of gallery forests and brushland. It is present from the lowlands up to altitudes of about 3,000 m (10,000 ft). [2]
The bearded woodpecker often forages in pairs which communicate with each other vocally, flicking their wings as they call. Each bird will spend a long time on a single tree, hammering, probing and pecking with its beak and gleaning any stray insects it encounters, before flying off to another, often distant, tree. The diet consists of insects and their larvae, spiders, caterpillars and ants. It has been known to catch geckos and small lizards. This bird often drums loudly on branches, finishing each drum-roll with four taps. The nest hole is drilled in dead wood, up to 20 m (70 ft) above the ground. A clutch averaging three eggs is laid and incubation, by both parents, lasts thirteen days. The chicks are cared for by both birds and remain in the nest for about four weeks. [2]
The African grey woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. Is a widespread and frequently common resident breeder in much of Sub-Saharan and equatorial Africa. It is a species associated with forest and bush which nests in a tree hole, often in an oil palm, laying two to four eggs. It is a common bird with a very wide range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The golden-olive woodpecker is a resident breeding bird from Mexico south and east to Guyana, northwest Argentina, as well as Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. It was formerly placed in the genus Piculus. The scientific name rubiginosus means "full of rust", describing the color of the bird's wings and back.
The Arabian woodpecker or Sarat woodpecker, is a bird species of the family Picidae, native to the Sarawat Mountains of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It is the only woodpecker that breeds on the Arabian Peninsula.
The cardinal woodpecker is a widespread and common resident breeder in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It occurs in a wide range of habitats, ranging from dense forest to thorn bush. It is fairly vocal and is easily identified by its call notes. The sexes are distinguishable by their head patterns.
The Hispaniolan woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
The golden-tailed woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. Its specific name commemorates the 5th Earl of Abingdon. It belongs to a species complex that includes the Knysna woodpecker to the south of its range, and the mostly allopatric Mombasa woodpecker to the northeast, with which it perhaps hybridizes.
The little spotted woodpecker or green-backed woodpecker, is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is native to large parts of tropical central Africa. It has an extensive range and is an uncommon species, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The Nubian woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is distributed widely in Central and Eastern Africa, from Chad in west to Somalia in east and Tanzania in south. It is a fairly common species with a wide range, the population seems stable, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The Andean flicker is a South American species of woodpecker. It is found in grassland, shrubland and Polylepis woodland at altitudes of 2,000–5,000 metres (6,600–16,400 ft) in the Puna ecoregion. Together with the campo flicker and ground woodpecker, it is one of the few largely terrestrial woodpeckers.
The rufous-bellied woodpecker or rufous-bellied sapsucker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. This woodpecker has a habit of making a series of small pits on the bark of trees leading to its being considered an Asiatic member of the sapsuckers in the past. It is found along the Himalayas in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, ranging across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Manchuria, Ussuriland and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The brown-backed woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in a belt across the savannah region of sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania in the east. It is generally uncommon, but has a very large range and the population appears to be steady, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The little grey woodpecker, also known as the Sahelian woodpecker, is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan. This species is described as somewhat rare, but it has a very large range and the population appears to be steady, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Stierling's woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is native to Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania where its natural habitat is tropical dry forests in the Eastern miombo woodlands ecoregion. It is threatened by habitat destruction. The bird is named in honour of the German bird collector N. Stierling.
The golden-naped woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. The species is very closely related to the beautiful woodpecker, which is sometimes treated as the same species. The two species, along with several other species, are sometimes placed in the genus Tripsurus.
The yellow-fronted woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay and far northeastern Argentina. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. It is a fairly common bird with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified its conservation status as "least concern".
Elliot's woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. 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".
The fire-bellied woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo and western Cameroon. A common species, the IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". Some taxonomic authorities place this species in Dendropicos.
The yellow-crested woodpecker, also known as the golden-crowned woodpecker, is a species of bird in the family Picidae. Some taxonomic authorities place this species in Dendropicos. Its typical habitat is wet tropical forest and it is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
The scarlet-backed woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being a species of "least concern".
The eastern grey woodpecker also grey-headed woodpecker and mountain gray woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is a resident breeder in eastern Africa. It has a large range and is a fairly common species. No special threats have been recognised and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the bird's conservation status as being of "least concern".