Checker-throated Woodpecker
Chrysophlegma mentale
Ornate medium-sized woodpecker. Moss-green with blood-red wings and neck. Back edge of head and neck are brightened by a sunny yellow crest. Black-and-white “checker” throat is not particularly obvious. Prefers mature lowland and hill forests; seldom seen in secondary growth or sparsely-vegetated edge. Typically forages at mid-levels of forest, frequently singly but also in mixed flocks or pairs. Gives loud, insistent “nyeh” notes and a strident “choo-yik!”
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Chrysophlegma mentale
- Authority
- (Temminck, 1826)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Chrysophlegma
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The species has been recorded as breeding in March and April in Malaysia, and between February and June in Borneo, using nests is excavated in deadwood. It feeds on insects supplemented by berries, foraging by gleaning and probing in the lower and middle canopy storeys.
Conservation
The checker-throated woodpecker is greatly threatened by deforestation caused by illegal logging for primary forest wood and the expansion of palm oil plantations and other agricultural developments, and appears to be declining. It is currently classified as Near threatened by the IUCN.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Australasian Grebe
Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
Small ducklike bird that rides low in the water. In breeding plumage note bright yellow eye, dark face, and rusty brown neck. In non-breeding plumage it is much paler, with the dark cap not extending below the eye (compare with Hoary-headed Grebe). Can be abundant; typically on freshwater ponds and lakes.
Pheasant Cuckoo
Dromococcyx phasianellus
Very retiring and elusive cuckoo of tropical forest, heard far more often than seen. Sings mainly in spring and summer, and at other times appears absent from areas where it may actually be fairly common. Feeds mostly on the ground, walking stealthily, but usually sings from mid-upper levels in trees, when it is most likely to be seen. Oddly shaped, with small head (rusty crest often raised and lowered) and very long, fan-shaped, (‘pheasant-like’) tail.
Eastern Crested Berrypecker
Paramythia montium
A medium-sized bird of upper-montane forest and shrubland. Mainly slaty-gray color with green back and yellow lower belly and sides. Note the black face, chest and crest which it can hold up or down. Also note the striking white mark from behind the eye to the back of the head. Can be found singly, in pairs, or in small flocks, which sometimes join mixed flocks with other birds. Very similar to Western Crested Berrypecker, but little or no overlap in range, and separated by longer white mark behind eye, brighter green back, and yellow along the sides. Not very vocal, but does give various scratchy calls and a nasal “wek!”.
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