Robust Woodpecker
Campephilus robustus
Huge woodpecker found in humid forests including Araucaria forests. The head is mostly red with a short crest and strong greenish bill. The wings and tail are black, but in flight, the wings are spotted with cinnamon patches above and below. Note the large buff patch on the back and heavy barring below. Males have white ear spots while females have a prominent white moustache.
Identification
The robust woodpecker is 32 to 37 cm (13 to 15 in) long and weighs 230 to 294 g (8.1 to 10 oz). Both sexes have whitish upperparts with a pale buff or cinnamon tinge. Their scapulars and the wings' coverts and upper surface are black with small rusty-buff spots on the flight feathers' inner webs. The wings' underside is blackish brown with rufous-buff spots on the flight feathers. Their tail is black . Their underparts are buff to whitish buff with black bars that are narrower on the belly. Adult males have an entirely red head and neck with a small black and white spot on the ear coverts. Adult females do not have the covert spot. They do have a wide whitish strip with black edges that extends from the bill to the ear coverts. The adult's bill is a long horn-colored chisel, their iris white to yellow-white, and their legs dark gray. Juveniles resemble adults but are duller and browner; their upperparts are whiter and their underparts have less contrast.
Taxonomy
The robust woodpecker was for a time placed in genus Scapaneus that was later merged into genus Phloeoceastes that was itself merged into the current genus Campephilus. The robust woodpecker is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Campephilus robustus
- Authority
- (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1818)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Campephilus
Range and habitat
The robust woodpecker is found in eastern Brazil from Bahia and Goiás south to Rio Grande do Sul, in eastern Paraguay, and in northeastern Argentina's Misiones and Corrientes provinces. It inhabits intact humid and Araucaria moist forests; it shuns disturbed forest unless large trees remain. In elevation it ranges from sea level to 2,200 m (7,200 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The robust woodpecker is a year-round resident throughout its range.<p>The robust woodpecker forages at all levels of the forest with some preference for the middle level; it only rarely feeds on the ground. It tends to hunt on tree trunks and the bases of limbs, where it pecks and hammers vigorously and also probes and flakes off bark. It tends to forage singly, in pairs, or in family groups, and only rarely joins mixed species feeding flocks. Its diet is mostly adult and larval beetles but also includes some berries.<p>One robust woodpecker nest was observed during excavation in May; it held young in July. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.<p>One robust woodpecker vocalization is a "psó-ko po-po-po-po-rrat" series. Two calls are "kee" and "kew" that are given both in flight and while perched. Its drum is a double tap "to-plóp" or "thump-ump".
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Blue-collared Parrot
Geoffroyus simplex
A medium-sized parrot from foothill to mid-montane forest. Uniformly green with a black bill and pale eye. Male has a full pale-gray collar with a thin blue edge around the front. Often seen flying in flocks and difficult to see perched. In flight, bulky head and thinner tail gives a front-heavy appearance. May overlap altitudinally with similar sized Red-cheeked Parrot, but Blue-collared Parrot has an all green head. Best identified by voice. Call, a ringing, tuneless jumble of up and down notes.
Green Oropendola
Psarocolius viridis
Large, stocky bird. Green-and-chestnut plumage can look mostly black under some conditions and at a distance. Note size, yellow tail, and deep, rowing wingbeats. Reliably distinguished from other green-plumaged oropendolas by pale green-and-red bill. Found in rainforest canopy and edges as well as along rivers, in villages, and in savanna woodlands. Groups move noisily through the forest canopy in search of fruit and flowers. Large flocks are sometimes seen commuting between roosting and feeding areas. Distinctive song of male can be heard at a great distance.
Claudia's Leaf Warbler
Phylloscopus claudiae
One of the Blyth’s-type warblers, this species regularly flicks its wings one after the other. Usually forages actively high up in the canopy, clambering along branches. Breeds in well-forested areas, but can be found in sparser forest edges in the winter. A large leaf warbler, it has a pale belly, weak wingbars, and a strong brow and crown pattern. Listen for its song, a squeaky and repetitive series of rolling whistled notes.The closely related Hartert’s Leaf Warbler is very similar but averages brighter yellow, especially on the crown stripe. Calls of the two species are very similar—a quick ‘pee-chuh!’—but their breeding ranges do not overlap. Overlaps on wintering grounds with very similar Blyth’s Leaf Warbler, from which it may be impossible to separate at times; note whiter brow stripe (particularly at the back), less yellow underparts, and slightly different voice.
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