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
Jamaican Woodpecker
Melanerpes radiolatus
A striking medium-sized species of wooded habitats. The white face framed by the red of its nape and crown and its finely barred black-and-white back is distinctive; resembles no other species in its range. Sometimes first detected by its determined excavation of rotting wood. Vocalizations include an emphatic, slightly rough “urp,” and a burry “urr-urr-urr-urr” given as a rapid rolling burst.
Altai Accentor
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Gray-brown overall with orange streaks on the breast and a white throat bordered by a thin black outline. Similar to Alpine Accentor, but darker and more extensively streaked. A common inhabitant of rocky alpine plateaus, meadows, and mountain slopes. Typically forages singly, but is often found in high numbers around campsites and towns where they scrounge for scraps.
Plain Martin
Riparia paludicola
Small, very plain brown swallow with a white belly. Uses many different open habitats, usually near water. Most often seen on the wing, sometimes in flocks, which can also contain other species of swallow or swift. Weak, fluttering flight. Inconspicuous “chit” call. Can be distinguished from all other swallows in its range by its plainness and small size. Rock Martin shows white patches in the tail. Bank Swallow has bright white underparts with a brown chest band.
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