| Pale-billed woodpecker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Picidae |
| Genus: | Campephilus |
| Species: | C. guatemalensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Campephilus guatemalensis (Hartlaub, 1844) | |
 | |
The pale-billed woodpecker (Campephilus guatemalensis) is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Mexico to Panama. [2]
The pale-billed woodpecker has these three subspecies: [2]
The pale-billed woodpecker is 35.5 to 38 cm (14 to 15 in) long. The nominate subspecies C. g. guatemalensis weighs 263 to 282 g (9.3 to 9.9 oz) and subspecies C. g. regius weighs 205 to 244 g (7.2 to 8.6 oz). Both sexes of the nominate subspecies have black upperparts from nape to rump. They have vertical white or buffy white stripes on the sides of their neck that continue onto their back and nearly or fully form a "V". Their tail is dull brown with dull olive-brown on the underside of the outer feathers. Their wings are black except for the outer primaries, whose upper surface has dull brown outer webs above and are greenish olive-yellow below. Their throat and upper breast are black and the rest of their underparts light yellowish buff with narrow black bars. Their bill is a long ivory yellow chisel, their iris light cream-buff, and their legs greenish gray. Adult males have a red head with a bushy crest and sometimes a grayish brown spot on the ear coverts. Adult females have a black forecrown, center of the crown, foreneck, and throat. Juveniles resemble adult females but with a darker bill and are mostly dull black on the side of their head. [3]
Subspecies C. g. nelsoni is slightly smaller than the nominate. Its black parts are browner, the upperparts' stripes whiter, and there is often some brown and black barring on the lower back and rump. Subspecies C. g. regius is larger than the nominate but otherwise similar. [3]
The subspecies of the pale-billed woodpecker are found thus: [2] [3]
The pale-billed woodpecker inhabits the interior and edges of a variety of forested landscapes. The most common of these is lowland tropical evergreen forest. On the Pacific slope, which is drier than the Caribbean slope, it also occurs in tropical deciduous forest and mangroves. It occurs locally in montane evergreen forest and pine-oak forest in Honduras. It shuns extensive deforested areas. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in Mexico, to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) in Honduras, to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) on Costa Rica's Pacific side but only to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) on the Caribbean side, and to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in Panama. [3]
The pale-billed woodpecker is a year-round resident throughout its range. [3]
The pale-billed woodpecker forages mostly in the forest's mid- to upper levels but will feed on the ground at stumps and fallen logs. It generally seeks its prey on tree trunks and large limbs, excavating in decayed wood and scaling bark from dead. It forages singly or in pairs, though pairs may be separated by several meters. It has not been seen to join mixed species feeding flocks. Its diet is not known in detail but is believed to be mostly large larvae of wood-boring beetles; the diet also includes termites and some small fruits. [3]
The pale-billed woodpecker's breeding season has not been fully defined but appears to vary with latitude. In southern Mexico it is between December and June, and in Costa Rica it is between August and September. Both sexes excavate the nest cavity in a large, often dead, tree; reported nests have been 3 to 12 m (10 to 40 ft) above the ground. The clutch size is two eggs and both parents incubate. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known. [3]
The pale-billed woodpecker's characteristic call is "a variable, nasal chatter or sputter", described more fully as "a nasal (like a sqeeze toy) kip kip kip kip-hey'eh'eh." It also makes "low whining notes", a "low whining or moaning call", and a "loud 'bleating' call". Its drum is "a loud, rapid, double rap" and, much more rarely, "a resonant series of up to seven rapid raps". [3] [4]
The IUCN has assessed the pale-billed woodpecker as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range and an estimated population of at least 50,000 mature individuals, though the latter is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] "This woodpecker requires large trees for foraging, however, and it disappears from areas that are deforested or heavily cut over." [3] Populations in Mexico are listed as "subject to special protection" by the Mexican Official Norm NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010. [5]
The red-crowned woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and Tobago.
The lineated woodpecker is a very large woodpecker which is a resident breeding bird from southern Mexico to northern Argentina and on Trinidad in the Caribbean.
The crimson-crested woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Panama, Trinidad, and in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
The red-rumped woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Costa Rica south to Peru and east to Brazil, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The chestnut-headed oropendola is a New World tropical icterid bird. The scientific name of the species commemorates Johann Georg Wagler, who established Psarocolius, the oropendola genus.
The mountain thrush is a large thrush which is found in Central America. It was formerly known as the mountain robin. Some authorities refer to it as the American mountain thrush to differentiate it from the Abyssinian thrush, known in their taxonomy as the African mountain thrush.
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.
Hoffmann's woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Honduras south to Costa Rica.
The dot-winged antwren is a passerine bird in the antbird family. In the past it was sometimes known as the velvety antwren, and some of its more distinctive subspecies have their own infrequently used English names. It is a resident in tropical Central and South America from southeastern Mexico south to western Ecuador, northern Bolivia, central Brazil and the Guianas. It is the only member of the genus Microrhopias.
The Guayaquil woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The crimson-bellied woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru.
The cream-backed woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The powerful woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
The robust woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
The red-necked woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The chestnut-colored woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The cinnamon woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The rufous-winged woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
The olivaceous piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Guatemala south through Central America and western South America to Peru.
The smoky-brown woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
