Okinawa Woodpecker
Dendrocopos noguchii
Dark, reddish-brown woodpecker with a long pale bill. Occurs in mature broadleaf evergreen forests of Yanbaru Forest, northern Okinawa Island, where it is endemic and critically endangered. Calls similar to other woodpeckers, with various combinations of sharp sounds. Drumming gradually accelerates toward the end.
Identification
This is a medium-sized (31 cm), dark woodpecker. It is dark brown in color with red-tipped feathers. It has white spots on the primaries. The head is a paler brown, with a dark red crown on the male and a blackish-brown one on the female. The call is a sharp whit call and a variable kyu-kyu kup kup kup or kyu kyu kup.
Taxonomy
Other common names for this species are Noguchi's woodpecker, Okinawan woodpecker, Pryer's woodpecker and Ryukyu woodpecker. Some taxonomic authorities place this species in the monotypic genus Sapheopipo.
- Scientific name
- Dendrocopos noguchii
- Authority
- (Seebohm, 1887)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Dendrocopos
Range and habitat
Their breeding habitat is subtropical, evergreen broad-leaved forest that is at least 30 years old on Okinawa Island, with tall trees of more than 20 cm in diameter. Nesting is between late February and May.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
This woodpecker is critically endangered. It has a single tiny, declining population which is threatened by habitat loss of mature forest due to logging, dam construction, agriculture, military and golf course developments. A major problem now is that one of their main habitats is being destroyed. The current population is estimated at less than 600. This species is suspected to be declining at a rate of 10-19% over ten years, as a result of ongoing clearance of old-growth forests.<p>This woodpecker is legally protected in Japan. It occurs in Yonaha-dake Prefecture Protection Area and small protected areas on Mount Ibu and Mount Nishime and conservation organisations have purchased sites where it occurs, but it is mainly found in the Okinawa Prefecture. In 1996, Yambaru was designated as a national park.<p>The habitat of the Okinawa woodpecker is threatened by the construction of six new American helipads located about 9.5 km Southwest of the Yanbaru forest of Takae. The lives of the birds themselves are also put at risk by the flights of V-22 Ospreys over the island.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
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Nest parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of African Firefinch. Breeding males are glossy blue-black, with a pale brownish panel in the wings, while females and non-breeding males are streaky and brown on the back and pale below, with a bold facial pattern. The color of the legs is red in South Africa and pale pink in the rest of the range. Found in savanna, woodland, and forest edge. Mimics the vocalizations of its host firefinches: a low metallic trill. Extremely similar to several localized indigobirds and the widespread Purple Indigobird. In South Africa, separated from Purple Indigobird by red legs. Elsewhere, breeding males are probably slightly less glossy but only separated with certainty by hearing mimicked vocalizations of host species.
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