Golden-green Woodpecker
Piculus chrysochloros
This medium-sized woodpecker has a large range from Panama to southeast Brazil. Both sexes are olive-green above and barred below with an obvious yellow stripe on the face. Males also have a red crown. There are several subspecies that differ primarily in facial pattern and color of the underparts; some males have a red mustache stripe and brighter yellow underparts. Singles or pairs are found in lowland forests from middle levels to the canopy, sometimes following mixed-species flocks.
Identification
The golden-green woodpecker is 18 to 27 cm (7.1 to 11 in) long and weighs 55 to 91 g (1.9 to 3.2 oz). Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Males of the nominate subspecies P. c. chrysochloros are red from forehead to nape, have olive green from the lores around the eye and onto the side of the neck, and successively a pale yellow stripe, a short red malar band, and an olive green stripe below that area. Their chin and upper throat are yellow. The nominate female has no red on its head; its forehead to nape are olive and it has an olive-brown malar area. Nominate adults have olive green upperparts. Their flight feathers are darker olive-brown and their tail dark olive-brown. Their underparts are pale yellow-buff with olive-brown bars. Their longtish beak is dark gray to blackish with a paler base, their iris white to bluish white, and the legs grayish green. Juveniles are generally duller than adults and have less well defined barring on their underparts.<p>Subspecies P. c. xanthochlorus is smaller and brighter yellow than the nominate, and the female has a yellow crown. P. c. capistratus is very large and a darker olive green above than the nominate, and has less red in the malar area, a barred throat, and greenish white instead of yellow buff on their underparts. P. c. paraensis is intermediate in size. Its cheek stripe, throat, and underparts' base color are cinnamon-buff. Males have a green, not red, malar, and females have a greenish yellow crown. P. c. laemostictus is large and rather dark, with a plain whitish throat. P. c. polyzonus is also large, with a pale yellow cheek stripe and throat and a yellow base color on the underparts.
Taxonomy
The golden-green woodpecker's taxonomy is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) and the Clements taxonomy recognize these six subspecies:<p>BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World further subdivides the golden-green woodpecker by adding the three subspecies P. c. aurosus, P. c. guianensis, and P. c. hypochryseus but does not list their originators. However, a 2013 study found that they are not "diagnosable units". <p>Subspecies P. c. xanthochlorus has at times been treated as a separate species.<p>Some authors treat the golden-green woodpecker and the yellow-browed woodpecker (P. aurulentus) as a superspecies.<p>This article follows the six-subspecies model.
- Scientific name
- Piculus chrysochloros
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1818)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Piculus
Range and habitat
The subspecies of the golden-green woodpecker are found thus:<p>The golden-green woodpecker inhabits a wide variety of landscapes, most of them wooded to some degree. They include terra firme and várzea forest, rainforest, deciduous forest, and more open areas like treed savannah, pastures, and clearings. In elevation it ranges from sea level on the Atlantic coast to 450 m (1,500 ft) in northwestern Venezuela, to 650 m (2,100 ft) in southern Venezuela, to 500 m (1,600 ft) in Colombia, to 650 m (2,100 ft) in Peru, and to 600 m (2,000 ft) but usually only to 300 m (1,000 ft) in Ecuador.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The golden-green woodpecker is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The golden-green woodpecker mostly forages in the forest's subcanopy and canopy, by itself, in pairs, or as part of a mixed species feeding flock. It commonly feeds by gleaning and also pecks and excavates to reach prey. Its diet has not been studied but is known to include ants and termites.<p>The golden-green woodpecker's breeding season is not well known but appears to vary geographically. Breeding has been recorded between February and March in Colombia and in September in Argentina. It excavates its nest cavity in a tree or in the nest of arboreal insects. The clutch size, incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.<p>The golden-green woodpecker's song is a "series of 15 almost toneless, hoarse 'schraah' notes, sounding like a hysterically crying baby."
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Ocellated Tapaculo
Acropternis orthonyx
The antithesis of a typical tapaculo, Ocellated is large and spectacular. The body is mostly black and covered with bright white spots. The face and rump are bright rufous. Look for the daggerlike hindclaws, which are used to scrape the ground in search of insects. Sexes alike. This chunky bird is quite shy, staying on or near the ground among thick understory and bamboo thickets in montane forest from 2,300–3,500 m. Not usually seen without considerable effort. Listen for its loud descending whistle, “wheeeu.”
Cave Swallow
Petrochelidon fulva
Compact swallow with a short, square tail. In flight, looks slightly less angular than other swallows, with more rounded wings. Note pale buffy-orange rump, which separates Cave from most other swallows in range. Also look for pale orange throat and orange forehead. Compare especially with Cliff Swallow, which has a darker throat and pale forehead. Fairly common in northern Mexico and on the Yucatan peninsula, with numbers increasing dramatically in Texas. Also occurs in the Caribbean, where birds are richer orange on the throat, rump, and sides. Sometimes nests in caves, but also frequently found under bridges and other human-made structures. Forages over open fields or bodies of water. Vagrants turn up regularly in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada in late fall, after most other swallows have departed.
White-chinned Petrel
Procellaria aequinoctialis
Common, rather large dark petrel of the Southern Ocean; regular migrant north into Humboldt Current. Usually looks wholly blackish with a pale, ivory-colored bill—the white chin is often just a few feathers and frequently is difficult to see in the field, although it can be more extensive, especially on Atlantic and Indian Ocean birds. White-chinned is obviously larger than dark-billed Sooty Shearwater and much smaller than giant-petrels, which have huge pale bills. Pale bill tip distinguishes White-chinned from similar Westland and Parkinson’s Petrels, which have dark bill tip.
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