| Hispaniolan woodpecker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In La Romana Province, Dominican Republic | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Picidae |
| Genus: | Melanerpes |
| Species: | M. striatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Melanerpes striatus (Müller, PLS, 1776) | |
 | |
The Hispaniolan woodpecker (Melanerpes striatus) is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (split between the Dominican Republic and Haiti).
The Hispaniolan woodpecker is a gold and black barred bird growing to a length of from 22 to 28 cm (8.7 to 11.0 in). The adult male has a red crown and nape and is larger than the female, with a longer beak. The upper neck is striped black and white and the back and wings are boldly striped in black and gold. The rump is greenish-yellow, with some red on the feather tips, and the upper side of the tail is black with red upper-tail coverts. The underside of the wings is greyish-brown with pale spotting and barring, and the underside of the tail is grey or olive. The fore-crown is grey or buff, the face and throat are grey and the underparts are buff, brown or olive, with some dark streaking on the flanks. The iris is yellow, the beak is long, slender, and grey, and the legs are grey. The adult female is similar to the male but has a black crown and red nape. The juvenile has a black crown with white and red spotting, an orange nape, and dark iris. [2]
This woodpecker is quite vocal, emitting a range of sounds including yapping, squeaking, rolling and nasal calls. Drumming is done only occasionally. [2]
It is found in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is mostly a woodland bird. Its range extends through many of Hispaniola's biomes: wet, dry, broadleaf, and coniferous forests, but also occurs in plantations, cactus scrub, mangrove areas, swamps, grasslands, palm groves, wooded agricultural areas, and urban parks. [2]
This woodpecker forages in small noisy groups; the diet is varied and includes insects, spiders, scorpions, lizards, fruit, seeds, grain and sap. It can catch flying insects in flight, and larger food items are bashed on an "anvil" to break them up. [2]
Unlike most woodpeckers, the Hispaniolan woodpecker is a social species that takes advantage of having a large number of individual adult birds in the colony to protect a nesting bank or tree. There may be twenty pairs of birds in a colony, with several nesting in the same tree. The nests are excavated in trunks and branches, and discarded holes are reused by Hispaniolan amazons, Hispaniolan parakeets, Hispaniolan trogons, Antillean piculets, and the golden swallow. [2]
Hispaniolan woodpeckers are omnivorous, and primarily eat insects, berries, fruits, and plants. Since their source of food is in high trees, this species is rarely seen foraging on the ground; rather, they forage on the sides of tree trunks. [3] [4] They are known to be a crop pest in the Dominican Republic for eating from cacao plants and other fruit producing trees. They are known not to eat the seeds in the cacao plant, but the holes they create can lead to insect damage. [5]
Nestlings also receive a diverse diet from their parents. Usually the food given is regurgitated, but parents will also give young non-regurgitated food. [3]
Some sexual dimorphisms have been compared with the foraging habits of this species. It has been noted that males and females sometimes differ in foraging habits. Females tend to glean on small branches, while males tend to tap and probe. [3] Evidence of differing bill size shows dimorphism between the sexes in relation to foraging practices. As stated already, it is possible that the physical mechanics that males and females present in foraging, could connect to diverging characteristics in their physiological structure. [6]
Displays that this species is known to exhibit are bill oriented displays, body movement, and dihedral flight. The bill displays are thought to be used as a confrontational display. This kind of display may be used to warn other individuals who are too close to a territory or nest. Body movement displays, such as the ‘swinging’ display are also an example of aggression or agitation. Two positively correlated displays are the ‘bowing’ display and dihedral flight. These displays are normally shown between a male and female. A breeding pair might greet one another at a nest using the bowing display, by moving their head and bill up and down. In flight, this glide-like pattern in the dihedral flight is also displayed when an individual's mate is present. [3]
Hispaniolan woodpeckers molt in a pattern, like woodpeckers in temperate climates.They have been found to keep their primary coverts in their second molt cycle. The time in which they molt occurs during their breeding season from mid spring to mid summer. This trait is common among tropical species. Males and females both have similar molts in flight feathers, as well as in body plumage. [7]
This species is thought to breed throughout the year; [7] however nesting usually starts in the spring. In at least one population, breeding exhibited a defined season, lasting from March through August. [7] These birds are very social, and up to 26 pairs will nest in a single tree. When it comes to nest construction, both the male and female will create a nest whole within a tree. The work in a pair is well evenly distributed. Once eggs are laid, both parents take part in incubation, as well as feeding once the young have hatched. The average clutch size is four or five eggs. Previous observations report cooperative breeding in this species but this behavior appears to be rare. Usually only females have been observed incubating on the same nest site. [3]
The acorn woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker, 21 cm (8.3 in) long, with an average weight of 85 g (3.0 oz).
The red-bellied woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker of the family Picidae. It breeds mainly in the eastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far north as Canada. Though it has a vivid orange-red crown and nape it is not to be confused with the red-headed woodpecker, a separate species of woodpecker in the same genus with an entirely red head and neck that sports a solid black back and white belly. The red-bellied earns its name from the pale reddish blush of its lower underside.
The golden-fronted woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in the southern United States, Mexico and parts of Central America.
The red-crowned woodpecker is a species of bird in the subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and Tobago.
Lewis's woodpecker is a large North American species of woodpecker which ornithologist Alexander Wilson named after Meriwether Lewis, one of the explorers who surveyed the areas bought by the United States of America as part of the Louisiana Purchase and first described this species of bird.
The white woodpecker is a South American species of woodpecker native to the wooded grasslands of Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. It is a bright white bird with black wings and a distinctive small bright yellow eye patch. The IUCN has rated it as a "least-concern species".
The Puerto Rican woodpecker is the only woodpecker endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico and is one of the five species of the genus Melanerpes that occur in the Antilles. Furthermore, it is the only resident species of the family Picidae in Puerto Rico. The species is common on the main island of Puerto Rico and rare on the island of Vieques.
The black-cheeked woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Mexico south to Ecuador.
The golden swallow is a swallow endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and was once native to Jamaica, but is now extirpated there. It is restricted to isolated montane forests that primarily consist of the Hispaniolan pine. This species is considered to be a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The exact cause of its extirpation from Jamaica is unknown, but likely factors include predation by introduced mammals and habitat loss, although the habitat loss theory is not supported by much evidence. The last sighting of the nominate subspecies was in Hardwar Gap, with three birds being seen on 8 June 1989.
The Hispaniolan spindalis is one of four species of bird in family Spindalidae. It is endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
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 golden-cheeked woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Mexico.
The Guadeloupe woodpecker or Tapeur is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae belonging to the genus Melanerpes. Endemic to the Guadeloupe archipelago in the Lesser Antilles, it is a medium-sized forest woodpecker with entirely black plumage and red-to-purple reflections on its stomach. It lives mainly in the islands' tropical rainforest areas. The woodpecker has no sexual dimorphism. The species has adapted under the pressure of urbanization to more open forest environments.
The grey-breasted woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is endemic to the interior of southwestern Mexico.
The beautiful woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Colombia.
The Jamaican woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Jamaica.
The great slaty woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. A unique and basically unmistakable bird, it is the largest known species of woodpecker.
The Antillean piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola that is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The Cuban green woodpecker is a species of woodpecker in the family Picidae and tribe Melanerpini, known locally in Cuban Spanish as carpintero verde. It is the only species within the genus Xiphidiopicus and is one of two woodpeckers endemic to Cuba. It is the most widespread and common woodpecker in Cuba, inhabiting primarily woodlands, as well as dry and wet forests, pine forests and mangroves. The population of the Cuban green woodpecker is stable and its status is listed as "Least Concern".
The Hispaniolan trogon is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is endemic to Hispaniola in the Caribbean. It is one of the only two trogon species found in the Caribbean. It is the national bird of Haiti.
