Lesser spotted woodpecker | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Piciformes |
Family: | Picidae |
Genus: | Dryobates |
Species: | D. minor |
Binomial name | |
Dryobates minor | |
Range of D. minor | |
Synonyms | |
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The lesser spotted woodpecker (Dryobates minor) is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It was formerly assigned to the genus Dendrocopos (sometimes incorrectly spelt as Dendrocopus). Some taxonomic authorities continue to list the species there.
The range of the lesser spotted woodpecker is the Palearctic region, but several subspecies are recognised.
The lesser spotted woodpecker was listed by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Picus minor. [2] The species was moved to the genus Dendrocopos by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch in 1816. [3] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2015 based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences found that the species placed in the genus Dendrocopos did not form a monophyletic group. [4] In the revised generic classification, the lesser spotted woodpecker was placed in the resurrected genus Dryobates, [5] [6] that had originally been introduced by the German naturalist Friedrich Boie in 1826. [7] The genus name Dryobates is from the Ancient Greek druos meaning woodland and batēs meaning walker. The specific minor is Latin for "smaller". [8]
There are 13 recognised subspecies: [5]
This is the smallest European woodpecker, with adults being 14 to 16.5 cm (5.5 to 6.5 in) long with a wing span of 24 to 29 cm (9.4 to 11.4 in) and weighing 17 to 25 g (0.60 to 0.88 oz). [9] [10] A sample of 50 lesser spotted woodpeckers in Great Britain averaged 19.8 g (0.70 oz) in body mass. [11] From its small size and its habit of spending most of its time in the tops of tall trees in woods and parks, this little woodpecker is often overlooked, but if sighted on a trunk it may at once be identified by the broad barring on the wings and narrower bars across the lower back.
The male has a crimson crown, a brown forehead, a black superciliary stripe, and another from the base of the bill to the neck. The nape and upper back are black, but the lower back is barred with black and white. On the wings are broader and more conspicuous bars, and the outer tail feathers are also barred. The under parts are white with streaks on the flanks. The bill and legs are slate-grey.
In the female the crown is white, but the young birds of both sexes have more or less crimson on the head. There are no marked seasonal changes.
Its habits are very similar to those of the great spotted woodpecker, and it has the same stumpy appearance, almost triangular, when bounding from tree to tree. Its note is a repeated "keek", loud for so small a bird, and its vibrating rattle can with experience be distinguished from that of the larger species. This substitute for a song may be heard at all times, but most frequently when courtship begins early in the year.
Its insect food is similar to that of the great spotted woodpecker. When hunting for wood-boring larvae it chips away at the rotten wood, and the litter at the foot of a tree is often the first indication that insects are attacking upper branches. From autumn to spring it hunts mainly on wood-living insect larvae, frequently from thin dead branches in living trees. Through the breeding season, surface-living insects from the foliage and bark of trees make up an increased amount of the diet. Nestlings are mainly fed with surface-living insects, such as aphids and larval insects. At night it roosts in old holes.
A litter of chips is also a guide to a nesting hole, for the bird does not always carry these away when excavating. The hole is usually at a considerable height above the ground and may be as high as 30 or 40 feet, 10 or 20 meters. It is a smaller burrow than that of the great spotted woodpecker, measuring from 1 to 2 inches, 2.5 to 5 cm in diameter.
The shaft varies, the nesting cavity being often a foot or more below the entrance. Five to eight highly polished white eggs are laid upon wood dust and chips in the latter half of May, and a single brood is the rule. Both birds help to incubate. Occasionally an old or natural hollow is used or enlarged.
Populations of lesser spotted woodpeckers are mostly resident, but can be nomadic to some degree. Annual fluctuations in population numbers are common. The winter temperatures may have a direct effect on winter survival of lesser spotted woodpeckers by heat loss, whereas weather conditions during spring have an indirect effect on breeding performance by affecting food sources. In 2017, the UK population of lesser spotted woodpeckers was reported to have almost halved since 2009, to around 2,000. The British Ornithology Trust blamed modern habits of removing dead trees quickly from parks and woodland, depriving the birds of the decaying wood which is their favoured nesting habitat. [12]
The stock dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It is widely distributed in the western Palearctic.
The great spotted woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found across the Palearctic including parts of North Africa. Across most of its range it is resident, but in the north some will migrate if the conifer cone crop fails. Some individuals have a tendency to wander, leading to the recent recolonisation of Ireland and to vagrancy to North America. Great spotted woodpeckers chisel into trees to find food or excavate nest holes, and also drum for contact and territorial advertisement; like other woodpeckers, they have anatomical adaptations to manage the physical stresses from the hammering action. This species is similar to the Syrian woodpecker.
The European green woodpecker is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the western Palearctic but in Spain and Portugal it is replaced by the similar Iberian green woodpecker.
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known that live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts, and the Gila woodpecker specialises in exploiting cacti.
The wrynecks are a small but distinctive group of small Old World woodpeckers. Jynx is from the Ancient Greek iunx, the Eurasian wryneck.
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The hairy woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker that is found over a large area of North America. It is approximately 250 mm (9.8 in) in length with a 380 mm (15 in) wingspan. With an estimated population in 2020 of almost nine million individuals, the hairy woodpecker is listed by the IUCN as a species of least concern. Some nomenclature authorities, such as the eBird/Clements checklist, place this species in the genus Dryobates.
The downy woodpecker is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America. Length ranges from 14 to 18 cm. Downy woodpeckers primarily live in forested areas throughout the United States and Canada, with the exception of deserts in the southwest and the northern tundra. The bird nests in tree cavities and feeds primarily on insects, although it supplements its diet with seeds and berries. The downy woodpecker is very similar in appearance to the hairy woodpecker, although they are not closely related.
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The boreal owl or Tengmalm's owl is a small owl in the "true owl" family Strigidae. It is known as the boreal owl in North America and as Tengmalm's owl in Europe after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm or, more rarely, Richardson's owl after Sir John Richardson.
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Picus is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family. It has representatives in Europe, Asia and North Africa. The genus name is Latin for "woodpecker". The genus Picus was erected by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.
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Dryobates is a genus of birds in the woodpecker family Picidae. The species are widely distributed and occur in both Eurasia and the Americas.