Southern Sooty-Woodpecker
Mulleripicus fuliginosus
A large woodpecker of lowland forest in the southern Philippines. Overall sooty-gray with a fairly long pointed tail, fine speckling on the head, pale eyes, and an ivory-colored bill. Male has a red mark from the base of the bill to the cheek. Occurs together with Buff-spotted Flameback and White-bellied Woodpecker, but has a plain gray belly. Voice includes high-pitched chips and squeals.
Identification
EBird describes the bird as "A large woodpecker of lowland forest in the southern Philippines. Overall sooty-gray with a fairly long pointed tail, fine speckling on the head, pale eyes, and an ivory-colored bill. Male has a red mark from the base of the bill to the cheek. Occurs together with Buff-spotted Flameback and White-bellied Woodpecker, but has a plain gray belly. Voice includes high-pitched chips and squeals."<p>The breeding season is reported as April to August in Samar and Leyte.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Mulleripicus fuliginosus
- Authority
- Tweeddale, 1877
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Mulleripicus
Range and habitat
Its natural habitats are at tropical moist lowland primary forest up to 1,000 meters above sea level. They cannot seem to tolerate degraded habitats and secondary forest.<p>The IUCN Red List has assessed this bird as vulnerable with the population believed to be on the decline. Its main threat is habitat destruction through both legal and Illegal logging, conversion into farmlands through Slash-and-burn, charcoal burning, and mining. Its preference for low altitudes suggests that it must have suffered population losses with the loss of lowland forest in the Philippines.<p>There are currently no species specific conservation plans. It occurs in a few protected areas on Pasonanca Natural Park and Samar Island Natural Park. However, as with most areas in the Philippines, protection from hunting and illegal logging is lax.<p>Conservation actions proposed are surveys to assess the total population size and locate strongholds. Monitor habitat trends. Increase the area of primary forest in the species' range that receives effective protection. Carry out long term habitat restoration with native tree species.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Western Bluebird
Sialia mexicana
Adult males have dark blue head, back, and wings. Breast and sides are deep orange with orange sometimes bleeding onto back. Females are grayer overall with orange on breast, blue usually restricted to wings and tail. Favors fields with some trees and open woods. Often in small groups. Frequently perches on wires or fence posts. Nests in cavities. Range barely overlaps Eastern Bluebird, but note orange on back of males and grayer belly and sides of neck on female.
Biet's Laughingthrush
Ianthocincla bieti
Rare and highly range-restricted laughingthrush of upper-elevation forests in a small area of southern China. Black throat combined with elegantly curved white eyebrow set it apart from other laughingthrushes. Brown body is extensively marked all over with black-and-white spots. A prized target of the cagebird trade, and thus currently undergoing rapid decline.
Gyrfalcon
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Stocky beast of a falcon; ranges in color from strikingly white to silvery-gray to dark sooty-brown. Relatively long tail and broad wings with powerful flight. Generally darker above and paler below, with markings on the belly ranging from small and crisp to big and chunky. Breeds on cliffs on Arctic tundra; winters in large open areas. Scarce even on breeding grounds. Bulkier and shorter-winged than Peregrine Falcon with a more diffuse face pattern and silvery undersides on flight feathers. Feeds on birds and mammals.
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