Stripe-cheeked Woodpecker
Piculus callopterus
This scarce small woodpecker is golden-olive above and barred below. The male has a red crown, a red mustache stripe, and a yellow stripe below the eye. Females are similar but only have red on the nape. Occurs singly or in pairs, usually in the lower to middle levels of foothill forest and edge. Compare with Rufous-winged Woodpecker, which lacks the yellow stripe on the face.
Identification
The stripe-cheeked woodpecker is about 17 cm (6.7 in) long. Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Males are red from forehead to hindneck and very widely on the malar (cheek); the latter has a buffy white stripe above it. The rest of its face is olive. The female has red only from the back of the crown to the hindneck but is otherwise the same as the male. Adults of both sexes have bronze-green upperparts. Their flight feathers are mostly cinnamon-rufous with dark brown bars. Their tail is blackish with some cinnamon-rufous on the outer feathers. Their throat and upper breast are greenish olive; the latter has yellowish spots. The rest of their underparts are buffy white with greenish olive barring. Their shortish beak is blackish with a paler mandible, their iris sky-blue to pale gray, and the legs olive-gray. Juveniles are duller than adults; their throat and breast are mottled, and their underparts' barring is uneven. Males have red only from the rear crown to the hindneck.
Taxonomy
The stripe-cheeked woodpecker was originally described as Chloronerpes callopterus. Since its inclusion in Piculus it has at times been considered conspecific with the rufous-winged woodpecker (P. simplex), the white-throated woodpecker (P. leucolaemus), and the Lita woodpecker (P. litae); the four may form a superspecies. The stripe-cheeked woodpecker is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Piculus callopterus
- Authority
- (Lawrence, 1862)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Piculus
Range and habitat
The stripe-cheeked woodpecker is found from Veraguas Province in west-central Panama to Darién Province, mostly on the Caribbean side. Though there are sightings very near the Colombian border, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society has no records from Colombia. The stripe-cheeked woodpecker inhabits the interior and edges of humid forest at elevations between 300 and 900 m (1,000 and 3,000 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
As far as is known, the stripe-cheeked woodpecker is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The stripe-cheeked woodpecker usually forages alone or in pairs, and also joins mixed species feeding flocks. It forages at the lower to mid-levels of the forest. It mostly feeds by pecking into the substrate. Its diet is not known in detail but does include ants.<p>The stripe-cheeked woodpecker's breeding season has not been fully defined but is known to include April and May. The few nest cavities discovered have been in dead trees between about 3.4 and 6 m (10 and 20 ft) above the ground. The clutch size, incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.<p>The stripe-cheeked woodpecker's primary call is "a nasal bi-syllabic note 'nyeeeh-wheet'"; both sexes utter it, singly or in a fast series. "Other vocalizations include scolding and a fast chattering series of short nasal notes, presumably when excited."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Large hummingbird found only in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Adult male has a glittering green throat, black breast, and violet tail. Female is pale gray underneath, and reveals a striking orange, black, and white pattern when she spreads her tail. Immature male has a dark, vertical stripe or blotch on throat and breast. Male is most similar to Green-throated Carib, but black is on the breast, not the belly, and tail is violet. Female has a similar plumage pattern to female Puerto Rican Emerald, but is larger with a longer, thicker, and more curved bill. Widespread and found in a variety of habitats including scrub, light woodland, and gardens. Less common in dense forest. Puerto Rican Mango and Hispaniolan Mango used to be considered the same species and were called Antillean Mango.
Brehm's Tiger-Parrot
Psittacella brehmii
A medium-sized parrot of mid-montane forest and edge. Green body with barred back and rump, brown face with pale silver bill and red under the tail. Male has yellow crescent bordering the brown face and female has additional barring on underparts. Forages sluggishly at all levels and easily overlooked, although sometimes flushed from tracks where it takes grit. Similar to Painted Tiger-Parrot, but Brehm’s is larger, has a green rump and brown cheeks. Call, a whining, nasal “chew!”, or an upslurred “chuuit!”.
Gray-cheeked Green-Pigeon
Treron griseicauda
Chunky green pigeon with comical lime-green “goggles” and a thick white bill. Male has a dark maroon back and shoulders, which the female lacks. Both sexes have a silvery-gray forehead and crown. Female may be confused with female Pink-necked and Orange-breasted Green-Pigeons, but note her gray crown, green spectacles, and bright yellow-green wing feather linings. Inhabits a wide range of wooded areas, from the lowlands into the foothills. Often in pairs, but will also gather in large flocks at fruiting trees. Gives a long, quavering coo, as well as more even-sounding cooing and odd chuckling calls.
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