Olive-backed Woodpecker
Gecinulus rafflesii
Medium-sized crested woodpecker with an olive-brown body and a black-and-white-striped head and neck; quite dull and dark for a flameback. Crest is bright red in males and black in females. Inhabits lowland and hill forests, where it forages both at middle levels and close to the ground, both singly and in pairs. Generally fairly uncommon and local. Gives cacophonous descending calls, often with a rasping quality.
Identification
The olive-backed woodpecker has yellow-green upperparts and gray-olive underparts. The side of the head has two black and white stripes. The male has a large red crest, the female has a smaller black crest.
Taxonomy
The olive-backed woodpecker was described by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1830 from a specimen collected by Stamford Raffles. Vigors coined the binomial name Picus rafflesii, with the specific epithet chosen to honour the memory of Raffles. The type location is Sumatra. The species is now placed in the genus Dinopium that was introduced by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1814.<p>A large phylogenetic study of the woodpecker family Picidae published in 2017 found that the olive-backed woodpecker (Gecinulus rafflesii) is more closely related to the pale-headed woodpecker (Gecinulus grantia). It may, therefore, be more appropriately assigned to the genus Chloropicoides.<p>Two subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Gecinulus rafflesii
- Authority
- (Vigors, 1830)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Gecinulus
Range and habitat
The olive-backed woodpecker has a wide range in Southeast Asia, occurring in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Indonesia (on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra). Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland, mangrove and montane forests; the species avoids clearings and secondary forest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
Gecinulus rafflesii is threatened by illegal deforestation due to the development of palm oil plantations and the deliberate targeting of primary forest wood. These practices of deforestation even continue in protected areas. The total population of this bird is unknown but it is thought to be uncommon. It is currently classified as Near threatened by the IUCN.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Indochinese Barbet
Psilopogon annamensis
Loud but sluggish and difficult-to-see canopy inhabitant of the Annamite highlands in western Vietnam, eastern Laos, and far eastern Cambodia. Green with an electric-blue face, pale yellow crown and throat, and thick black eyebrows. Also note heavy dark bill with long bristles at the base. More often heard than seen; listen for its long, unending series of hollow-sounding notes. Like many other barbets, it can be difficult to locate when singing; more readily seen at fruiting trees. Formerly considered a subspecies of Black-browed Barbet.
Spotted Nothura
Nothura maculosa
Small sandy-colored tinamou; largely yellow below with a cryptically patterned back and head with a mix of dark and pale feathers. Mostly found in natural grasslands and savannas as well as in cultivated areas and can be locally common, but difficult to spot. The song is a repetitive “Tchip, tchip, tchip, tchip” or an insect-like “triiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii” trill.
Opal-rumped Tanager
Tangara velia
Common tanager, found in a variety of forest habitats. Usually seen from below, in which case it is best identified by uniform dark underparts with rufous lower belly and undertail coverts, and active behavior. The shining white rump can be seen from most angles on perched birds, even when high overhead. Found in tall rainforest, shorter-stature forests on sandy soils, and in disturbed areas. Groups move rapidly through treetops, usually with other species of small tanagers, feeding on fruit. Calls are indistinct chips, often given in rapid series in flight.
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