Arabian Woodpecker
Dendrocoptes dorae
Unusual woodpecker of southwest Arabia. Mostly pale brown, with a darker brown, white-barred wing and tail. Males have a red patch at the rear of their crown, while females are completely brown-headed. Found in a variety of wooded habitats, including juniper, acacia, and palm groves. Breeds at middle elevations, but found at both higher and lower elevations, even down to sea level, in the non-breeding season. The call is a quick series of high-pitched “kek” notes, which usually accelerates and descends slightly.
Identification
The Arabian woodpecker grows to a length of about 18 cm (7 in). The male has a brownish or pale grey head with a bright red patch on the crown and nape. The back, wings, and tail are olive-grey to brown streaked with white, and the wings are barred with white. The underparts are grey streaked with white and the belly has the central area suffused with red. The female is similar but lacks the red crown patch. The call has been rendered as "pweek pit-pit-pit-pit-pit-pit-pit-ptptpt" and the bird occasionally drums on branches.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Dendrocoptes dorae
- Authority
- (Bates, GL & Kinnear, 1935)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Dendrocoptes
Range and habitat
The species is endemic to the mountains and foothills of the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula, being restricted to southwestern Saudi Arabia and western Yemen. It is found in a range of woodland habitats including, at lower altitudes, patches of Ficus, date palm and Pandanus. It is present in evergreen riparian forested corridors, on shading trees in coffee plantations, in orchards, on terraced cropland with isolated trees, and in woods and spinneys of Acacia, juniper, olive and Dracaena. Its altitudinal range is from sea level to 2,800 m (9,200 ft) but it probably only breeds between about 400 and 2,400 m (1,300 and 7,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Like other woodpeckers, the Arabian woodpecker feeds on insect grubs which it extracts from holes in tree trunks and branches with its long tongue. It also feeds on spiders, aphids, fig-wasps and flying insects. The nest is in a hole in the trunk or branch of a tree, usually below 6 m (20 ft), excavated in dead wood. The main breeding season is from March to May, but a second brood is sometimes reared in November in Yemen.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Phylloscopus poliocephalus
A small warbler with a pale eyebrow, a dull greenish upperside, a white throat, and yellowish underparts. Sometimes shows a faint central crown stripe, and sometimes an indistinct wingbar. Widespread with small variations, perhaps indicating multiple cryptic species. Singles, pairs, or groups inhabit lowland and hill forest, often accompanying mixed-species flocks. Differs from Arctic, Japanese, and Kamchatka Leaf Warblers in being smaller, yellower underneath, and darker above, and in sometimes showing a central crown stripe. Sings a very variable high-pitched warble mixed with twittering phrases.
Red-masked Parakeet
Psittacara erythrogenys
A medium-sized green parakeet with a long tail and red underwings and thighs (red on the thighs not easy to see). Similar to Mitred Parakeet, but usually has more red on the face, extending below and behind the eye, as well as red patches on the underwing. Usually seen in pairs or flocks of up to 30 birds in lowland dry forest. Calls are loud screeches. Introduced to the Hawaiian Islands and California.
Chestnut-shouldered Antwren
Euchrepomis humeralis
Small canopy antwren. Gray head, with yellowish underparts, and wingbars; males have a fine black eyeline and cap. Less apparent field marks are its small reddish shoulder patch and reddish back patch. Moves more sluggishly than greenlets or tanagers, which it often joins in mixed-species flocks. Its song is an accelerating series of high, thin notes.
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