Fire-bellied Woodpecker
Chloropicus pyrrhogaster
A large, long-billed woodpecker with an olive back, a red rump, a bold facial pattern, and heavily marked underparts with a bright red central belly stripe. The crown and back of the head are black in the female and red in males. Forages alone or in pairs, preferring dead tree trunks where it can excavate for beetle larvae and other insects in lowland rainforest, gallery forest, and plantations. Calls include a sharp “kwip,” a series of similar notes, and a fast whinnying call. Also gives a distinctive drum that lasts about 2 seconds, beginning fast and then slowing. Similar to Bearded and Yellow-crested Woodpeckers, but there is very little overlap in range, and those species lack the red belly patch.
Identification
The upper parts of the fire-bellied woodpecker are olive or bronze with slight barring. The wings are brown with some light barring and the upper-tail blackish. The rump and upper tail coverts are crimson. The head and throat are white, boldly marked with a blackish malar streak that extends onto the breast, and a post-ocular streak extending onto the ear-coverts. The breast is cream with dark chevrons on the flanks, the central region and belly being scarlet as far as the vent. The long, sharp beak is grey as are the legs. The sexes are different; the male has a red crown and nape while the female has this area black. The female has a longer tail and shorter beak than the male, and the red on her belly is less distinct. Juveniles are duller and browner than adults, and both sexes have some red on the crown at this age.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Chloropicus pyrrhogaster
- Authority
- (Malherbe, 1845)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Chloropicus
Range and habitat
The fire-bellied woodpecker is native to tropical West Africa, its range extending from Upper Guinea and Sierra Leone eastwards to southern Nigeria and western Cameroon. It is found in the lowlands and foothills, its habitat being clearings and edges of primary rainforest; it is also found in gallery forest, scattered woodland, partially logged and degraded areas, wooded savannah and scrubby bush, and there are usually some large dead trees within its range. It is a non-migratory species.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
This woodpecker is usually seen in pairs or small family groups, but it sometimes associates with other insect-eating birds. It forages for insects, especially beetle larvae, mainly in the canopy and on dead standing trees, but sometimes descends onto fallen trees. Both sexes drum in the dry season in repeated, short rapid bursts, at the rate of 14 to 38 strikes per second.
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Blue-headed Wood-Dove
Turtur brehmeri
A shy dove of lowland tropical forest, rarely seen away from intact forest habitats. Distinct from other small African doves in its uniform ruddy plumage and blue-gray head and hindneck. Call is a series of hollow hoots that increase in speed and sometimes waver slightly in pitch. Song is very similar to that of other wood-doves, but other wood-doves prefer more disturbed or more open habitats.
Malayan Crestless Fireback
Lophura erythrophthalma
A rare, compact pheasant of damp tropical lowland rainforest, especially peat swamp forest. Dark overall with bright red facial skin and a cocked, vertically-flattened tail. Males have fine vermiculations on the wings, deep orange (fire)back, purple rump and pale orange tail. Females are dark blue all over. Exceedingly shy, typically moving in pairs or small groups. Female is similar to Salvadori’s Pheasant male but the 2 species do not normally co-occur and the latter has often has its tail pointing downwards. Gives a relatively high-pitch “chick!” followed by a low “takrow”.
Fanti Sawwing
Psalidoprocne obscura
An elegant sooty-brown swallow with a distinctive long and deeply forked tail. Plumage has a greenish gloss if seen well. Female and juvenile have shorter tails, and the latter is brownish. Resident in some areas; in others, occurs only in the breeding season. Pairs prefer foraging over clearings and the edges of evergreen forest, open woodland, and cultivation, usually near water. Not very vocal, but emits faint squeaky notes and trills. The only other sawwing in Fanti’s range is Square-tailed, which has a much shorter, square-ended tail.
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