Red-stained Woodpecker
Veniliornis affinis
Small brown woodpecker of lowland rainforest. Upperparts olive brown with small red spots (“stains”) on the shoulder (but these may be hard to see). Males have a red crown and nape. Found in a variety of humid forest habitats, including mature rainforest, secondary rainforest, and forest edges. Distinguished from the similar Little Woodpecker by its larger size, plainer face, and small red wing spots, as well as by voice; also, female has yellowish nape (gray in female Little). Red-stained also occurs in more mature forest habitats than Little, like mature rainforest and tall secondary growth (Little prefers dense riverside vegetation and successional growth). Call a fast series of high raptor-like yelps: “keer, keer, keer, …”, individual notes clearer and more descending than those of Little Woodpecker.
Identification
The red-stained woodpecker is about 15 to 18 cm (5.9 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 32 to 44 g (1.1 to 1.6 oz). Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Males of the nominate subspecies affinis have a red crown with black feather bases that show through. The female has a dark olive-brown crown. Adults of both sexes have a mostly buffish face with olive streaks and a golden-yellow nape and hindneck. Their upperparts are mostly yellowish green with some red feather tips, pale yellow streaks, and some barring on the rump and uppertail coverts. Their flight feathers are dark brown with wide green edges and buffish white bars on the primaries and secondaries. Their tail is dark brown with yellowish bars on most feathers. Their underparts are light cinnamon-buff with dark olive-brown bars that are more widely spaced on the belly and flanks. The iris is brown to red-brown, the longish beak blackish with a paler mandible, and the legs are olive green to green-gray. Juveniles resemble adults with a darker and streakier face; both sexes have some red on the crown, the male more than the female.<p>Subspecies orenocensis has greener upperparts with less red than the nominate. Subspecies hilaris is larger than the nominate, with more bronzy or yellow upperparts with fainter streaks, and with broad red tips on the wing coverts. Subspecies ruficeps is the same size as hilaris, with larger red tips on the cover feathers and more obvious yellow streaks on the upperparts.
Taxonomy
The International Ornithological Committee and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World place the red-stained woodpecker in genus Veniliornis. However, starting in 2018, the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy moved all species of genus Veniliornis into genus Dryobates.<p>The taxonomic systems agree that the red-stained woodpecker has these four subspecies:<p>Subspecies hilaris and ruficeps have at times been treated as separate species. What is now the Choco woodpecker (V. (or D.) chocoensis) was at one time treated as a subspecies of the red-stained woodpecker.
- Scientific name
- Veniliornis affinis
- Authority
- (Swainson, 1821)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Veniliornis
Range and habitat
The subspecies of red-stained woodpecker are found thus:<p>The red-stained woodpecker primarily inhabits the interior of tall rainforest. It occurs less at the forest edges, in secondary forest, and scrublands. In Ecuador and Peru it also occurs in humid lowland terra firme and sometimes várzea forests. It will occasionally forage in more open landscapes. In elevation it occurs between 100 and 500 m (300 and 1,600 ft) in Venezuela, up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in Colombia, as high as 850 m (2,800 ft) but usually only to 600 m (2,000 ft) in Ecuador, and up to 1,300 m (4,300 ft) in Peru.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Brown Firefinch
Lagonosticta nitidula
This is the darkest and dullest firefinch, the only species without a red or pink rump. Both sexes have red in the bill. Males have an extensive red patch on the face, and females just a bit of red. Found in thickets, woodland, and riparian forest adjacent to wetlands. Quiet and inconspicuous. Usually in pairs or small groups. The song is a chattering mix of various types of notes, and calls include soft “tip” notes.
Purple Quail-Dove
Geotrygon purpurata
Stunning dove found in very wet rainforest in the lowlands and foothills of western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Notable features include a chestnut back, pale belly, golden neck patches, and a striking head pattern. Might be confused with the duller Olive-backed Quail-Dove in dark forest, where color is not easy to discern; note the neck patches and stronger contrast between white forehead and darker crown on Purple Quail-Dove. Usually encountered alone, quietly walking along the forest floor. May ascend to a low perch when flushed or when it sings—a soft whistle repeated every few seconds.
Mountain Robin-Chat
Cossyphicula isabellae
A fairly plain brown-and-orange robin-chat with a white eyebrow and a dark face. As in most robin-chats, the tail has a dark center and orange edges. An inconspicuous bird of the understory of montane forest. Sometimes follows columns of ants. Similar to White-bellied Robin-Chat, but distinguished by the orange belly and the much bolder white eyebrow. Also similar to Bocage’s Akalat, but distinguished by the white eyebrow and the two-colored tail. The song is a series of several squeaky, rasping whistles, far less conspicuous and musical than the vocalizations of most robin-chats.
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