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
Lesser Kiskadee
Philohydor lictor
This flycatcher is brown above and bright yellow below with a black-and-white head pattern; very similar in plumage to a host of other species including Great Kiskadee and Rusty-margined Flycatcher. However, note Lesser Kiskadee’s smaller size, slender shape, and longer, narrower bill. Sexes alike. Found singly or in pairs, almost exclusively around slow-moving bodies of water in the lowlands of northern South America. Easy to find; tends to perch conspicuously often at eye level close to the water’s surface. Also listen for its slurred buzzy calls to help distinguish from similar species.
Jelski's Chat-Tyrant
Silvicultrix jelskii
Small flycatcher found in the Andes of Peru and southwestern Ecuador. Like other chat-tyrants, it has an obvious white eyebrow. Separated from similar species in range by the yellow forehead, rusty wingbars, and brown back. Typically stays low near the edge of scrubby forest, and it is usually quiet and easily overlooked. Occasionally gives soft squeaks and trills.
Red-crested Turaco
Tauraco erythrolophus
A long-tailed, bulky greenish turaco with a yellow bill, a red crest (sometimes tipped white) extending down the nape, and a whitish face. In flight, it explodes from the canopy, showing distinctive deep red panels in the wings. Pairs or small groups bounce agilely through gallery forest canopies and the edge of Miombo woodland. Angolan endemic and national bird that is restricted to the escarpment. Presence often revealed by its song, which lasts about 10 seconds: a whooping “hooooah” followed by 7–10 harsh croaking repeated “khaaar” notes; higher-pitched than songs of most other turacos. It is the only turaco within its range with a red crest.
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