Little green woodpecker

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Little green woodpecker
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C. maculosa on the right
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Campethera
Species:
C. maculosa
Binomial name
Campethera maculosa
(Valenciennes, 1826)

The little green woodpecker, or golden-backed woodpecker, [2] (Campethera maculosa) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Africa, living in forest edges, clearings, and forest-shrub mosaics. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as a least-concern species.

Contents

Taxonomy

This species was described by Achille Valenciennes in 1826, as Picus maculosus. [3] [4]

There are two subspecies: [5]

The subspecies permista was formerly classified in the green-backed woodpecker (C. cailliautii), but was transferred to this species by Handbook of the Birds of the World, and in 2022 by the International Ornithological Congress. [4]

The little green and green-backed woodpeckers have hybridised in Ghana. [2]

Description

The little green woodpecker is about 16 cm (6.3 in) long and weighs about 54 g (1.9 oz). The male's crown is olive-blackish with an indistinct reddish colour, and the nape is red. The head, neck and throat are buff, with brown spots. The upperparts are yellowish-green or bronze-green. The flight feathers are brown and have buffish bars. The tail is blackish, with some yellow and green. The underparts are buffish from the throat to the breast and greenish-white below the breast, all of the underparts having deep olive bars. [2] The beak is olive or blackish, the eye is brown, and the legs are olive-grey. [6] The female does not have red on the head and has buff spots on its crown and nape. The juvenile bird has greener upperparts with pale streaks, and its underparts are paler. [2]

Distribution and habitat

The little green woodpecker is found in West Africa, in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana. [6] Its range would extend east to South Sudan, Uganda, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo if C. cailliautii permista were included in this species. [4] Its habitat is edges of primary and secondary forests, clearings, and mosaics of forest and shrub, at elevations up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft). [2]

Behaviour

This woodpecker eats arboreal ants. Its calls are a plaintive huweeeeh, a harsh whee, kewik, three to four teeay notes, and teerweet. It excavates nests in nests of ants and termites. [6] It breeds in August and possibly in March and April. [2]

Status

Logging and clearing of forests appears to be causing a population increase because the bird prefers open habitats. [1] [6] The species has a large range and increasing population, so the IUCN has assessed it as a least-concern species. [1]

Related Research Articles

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Golden-tailed woodpecker Species of bird

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<i>Campethera</i> Genus of birds

Campethera is a genus of bird in the family Picidae, or woodpeckers, that are native to sub-Saharan Africa. Most species are native to woodland and savanna rather than deep forest, and multiple species exhibit either arboreal or terrestrial foraging strategies. Its nearest relative is the monotypic genus Geocolaptes of southern Africa, which employs terrestrial foraging and breeding strategies. They are however not close relatives of similar-looking woodpeckers in the "Dendropicos clade".

Bennetts woodpecker Species of bird

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Little spotted woodpecker Species of bird in the family Picidae

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".

Brown-eared woodpecker Species of bird

The brown-eared woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is native to the African tropical rainforest. There are two subspecies; P. c. caroli in the eastern part of its range and P. c. arizela, present from Guinea-Bissau in the west to Nigeria in the east. This bird has a wide range and is a common species in some areas, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

Buff-spotted woodpecker Species of bird

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Brown-backed woodpecker Species of bird

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".

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Fire-bellied woodpecker Species of bird

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.

Yellow-vented woodpecker Species of bird

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Melancholy woodpecker Species of bird

The melancholy woodpecker is a species of woodpecker. It is found in West Africa from Sierra Leone east to Nigeria, living in forests, forest edges, clearings and woodlands. It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the Gabon woodpecker. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as a least-concern species.

Purple quail-dove Species of bird

The purple quail-dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.

References

  1. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2017). "Campethera maculosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T22680914A111736218. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22680914A111736218.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Winkler, Hans; Christie, David A.; Nurney, David (2010). Woodpeckers. A&C Black. p. 233. ISBN   9781408135037.
  3. Valenciennes, Achille (1826). "Pic". In Frédéric Cuvier (ed.). Dictionnaire des sciences naturelles. Vol. 40 (2e ed.). Strasbourf: F. G. Levrault. pp. 167–181, 173.
  4. 1 2 3 Winkler, H.; Christie, D. A.; Kirwan, G. M. "Little Green Woodpecker (Campethera maculosa)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D. A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions.
  5. "IOC World Bird List 12.1". IOC World Bird List Datasets. doi:10.14344/ioc.ml.12.1.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Gorman, Gerard (2014). Woodpeckers of the World: The Complete Guide. A&C Black. p. 183. ISBN   9781408147177.