Golden-collared Woodpecker
Dryobates cassini
Small woodpecker of lowland rainforest; heard more often than seen. Note prominent yellow patch on nape in both sexes. Smaller and less colorful than other woodpeckers that occur with it. Often with mixed-species flocks; occurs from mid-level into canopy, infrequently in the understory. Climbs tree trunks and bores into dead wood and arboreal termite nests. Call is a drawn-out, ringing trill on one pitch.
Identification
The golden-collared woodpecker is about 16 cm (6.3 in) long and weighs about 24 to 38 g (0.85 to 1.3 oz). Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Males have a red crown with grayish black feather bases that show through. The female has a brown crown with a green tinge and whitish yellow spots on the rear. Adults of both sexes have a mostly buffish white face with fine darker streaks and a golden-yellow nape and hindneck. Their upperparts are mostly yellowish green with a bronzy tinge and sometimes yellowish barring on the rump. Their flight feathers are dark brown with greenish edges and white bars on the secondaries and tertials. Their tail is dark brown with paler bars on most feathers and some white on the outer two pairs. Their underparts are white to pale buffish white barred with black to brownish black. The iris is dark brown to red-brown, the longish beak dark gray with a paler tip, and the legs are olive to dark gray or blackish. Juveniles resemble adults but have a darker face and greener upperparts; both sexes have some red on the crown.
Taxonomy
The International Ornithological Committee and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World place the golden-collared woodpecker in genus Veniliornis. However, starting in 2018, the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy moved all species of genus Veniliornis into genus Dryobates.<p>The golden-collared woodpecker is monotypic. However, what is now the Choco woodpecker (V. (or D.) chocoensis) was at one time considered a subspecies of it.
- Scientific name
- Dryobates cassini
- Authority
- (Malherbe, 1862)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Dryobates
Range and habitat
The golden-collared woodpecker is found from Amazonas and Bolívar states in Venezuela east and south through the Guianas and Brazil north of the Amazon between the Rio Negro and Amapá. It inhabits the interior and clearings in rainforest and also more open landscapes with trees and shrubs. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The golden-collared woodpecker is believed to be a year-round resident throughout its range. <p>The golden-collared woodpecker usually forages alone but does join mixed species feeding flocks. It often hunts in the canopy. Its diet has not been detailed but is known to include Cerambycidae beetles.<p>Nothing is known about the golden-collared woodpecker's breeding biology. <p>The golden-collared woodpecker is usually rather silent. It does make "a series of 33–35 nasal 'khir' notes, rising in frequency" that is also described as a "loud, upslurred, rattling trill".
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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