Golden-crowned Woodpecker
Chloropicus xantholophus
A large, long-billed woodpecker with an olive back, a bold facial pattern, and heavily marked underparts. The crown is black in the female and yellow in the male, though this yellow patch can be difficult to see. Found in rainforest and secondary forest at low and middle elevations. Calls include a fast whinnying call, a sharp “kwip,” and a series of similar notes. Also gives a distinctive drum that lasts about 3 seconds, beginning fast and then slowing. Similar to Bearded and Fire-bellied Woodpeckers, but there is very little overlap in range; Golden-crowned can be separated from Bearded by the unbarred back and from Fire-bellied by the lack of a red belly. Males further distinguished by their yellow crown.
Identification
The yellow-crested woodpecker grows to a length of 22 to 25 cm (9 to 10 in). The male has a small golden patch with black flecking on the crown, most noticeable in display, but the female lacks this. In other respects, the sexes are similar, the forehead being brown and the cheeks and throat whitish; there is a broad black streak through the eye which extends to the sides of the neck. The nape is black and the upper parts of the body are dull brownish-olive, usually plain but sometimes slightly barred. The rump and upper tail coverts are yellowish and the tail chocolate-brown. The underparts are brown with white spotting on the breast and white barring on the flanks and lower belly. The beak is long, the upper mandible being darker than the lower one, the iris is dark red and the legs and feet are olive-grey. Juveniles are somewhat drabber, with fewer spots but more barring, and both sexes have some yellow tipped feathers in the crown.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Chloropicus xantholophus
- Authority
- Hargitt, 1883
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Leiopicus
Range and habitat
The yellow-crested woodpecker occurs in equatorial Central and Western Africa. Its range extends from western Kenya to Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon, and southward to northwestern Angola. Its altitudinal range is from 700 to 2,150 m (2,300 to 7,100 ft). Its habitat is dense primary or secondary rainforest, as well as drier forests, forest edges, and plantations of cocoa or coffee where there are some remaining large trees.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Both male and female yellow-crested woodpeckers resort frequently to drumming; they produce loud rolls which start slowly, accelerate and finally fade away. This bird is also rather vocal, producing a range of chattering calls and various series of notes. It feeds on insects in the middle and upper parts of the canopy, chiselling into wood to find beetle larvae, levering off bark, and sometimes sallying to catch flying insects. The breeding habits of this species are poorly known, but it probably nests between September and March in Cameroon, Kenya and Uganda, and between June and September in Angola.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Bay-breasted Cuckoo
Coccyzus rufigularis
A large cuckoo with an impressive tail and a rich maroon throat and breast. Found in low-to-moderate elevation deciduous woodlands. The similarly shaped Hispaniolan Lizard-Cuckoo is smaller, has a longer and straighter bill, and is gray on the chest. The most common vocalization is a “ooo-whaaa,” given in a series. The impressive “dawn song” is a series of harsh, ratcheting utterances that accelerate in frequency and grow ever briefer in duration: the first few notes are “ooo-whaaaa,” becoming “whaa” as the song progresses.
Orangequit
Euneornis campestris
A small inhabitant of moist woodlands where it feeds on nectar and fruit. Note the short and slightly down-curved bill. Males are glossy plumbeous blue with a brick-orange throat but can appear black in poor lighting. Females have a warm brown back that contrasts with a deep gray crown. The Jamaican Euphonia is superficially similar, but has a stubby bill and a greenish back. Vocalizations include a high, thin “tsit-tsit,” with the second note louder and higher in pitch, plus a thin, descending whistled “tsee-uh.”
Puerto Rican Emerald
Riccordia maugaeus
A lively inhabitant of most wooded habitats, coffee plantations, and gardens. The long-tailed male is distinctive in being entirely iridescent green, although can radiate blue at certain angles and lighting. Male Green-throated Carib and Green Mango can also appear entirely green, however both are larger, with longer and strongly curved bills. The female Puerto Rican Emerald is metallic green above, dingy white below, and has a relatively long, forked tail. Its face is typically blackish with a small white spot behind the eye. The similar Antillean Crested Hummingbird has a shorter bill, lacks the black in face and the spot behind the eye, and it has a rounded tail. The emerald's song is a rapid twittering and the common call is a high thin metallic "tsip" given singly or in series.
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