Yellow-crowned Woodpecker
Leiopicus mahrattensis
Medium-sized woodpecker with a densely-spotted black-and-white back and blotchy brown-and-white underparts. Female has an all-golden crown; male has a red forecrown. Where it overlaps with Brown-fronted Woodpecker, note blotchier brown striping on the underparts, pale vent, and duller crown. Gives sharp notes and a high descending rattle. Favors dry arid areas with relatively open foliage.
Identification
A medium-small (17.5 cm, 6.9 inches, 28-46 grams, 1–1.6 ounces), pale-headed, pied woodpecker. Upper-parts black, heavily spotted and barred white. Underparts dark, streaked dingy white with red belly patch. Irregular brown cheek and neck patches. Female has yellowish crown and nape. In male nape scarlet and fore-crown yellow.
Taxonomy
The yellow-crowned woodpecker was originally described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Picus mahrattensis. It is now the only species placed in the genus Leiopicus that was introduced by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854. The specific epithet mahrattensis is from Marhatta, a historical region in the modern Indian state of Maharashtra. The genus name Leiopicus combines the Classical Greek leios meaning "smooth" or "beardless" and pikos meaning "woodpecker". The yellow-crowned woodpecker is closely related to the woodpeckers in the genus Dendrocoptes.
- Scientific name
- Leiopicus mahrattensis
- Authority
- (Latham, 1801)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Leiopicus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds

African Gray Flycatcher
Bradornis microrhynchus
A very plain gray-brown flycatcher of dry country. Note the distinct dark streaks on the crown and the dirty grayish underparts. Found in dry savanna and woodland habitats, usually in pairs or small groups, often sitting on open perches. Very similar to Pale Flycatcher, but found in drier habitat, and distinguished by the streaked crown and darker underparts. Similar to Spotted Flycatcher, but lacks streaking on the breast. Distinguished from all other flycatchers by the crown streaking. Gives quiet scratchy vocalizations.

Okinawa Robin
Larvivora namiyei
Endemic resident of shady subtropical broadleaf forest understorey on the main island of Okinawa. Forages on the ground and often seen at the forest edge. Rufous-orange upperparts with grayish-white belly. Male has a black face and chest. Similar to the migratory Ryukyu Robin but male lacks the blackish flank patches and black forehead of that species. Female lacks black spotting on the chest of female Ryukyu Robin. Song is an up-and-down whistled melody. Call is a dry rattle, accompanied by wing and tail flicks.

Senegal Coucal
Centropus senegalensis
Small coucal with a black cap and buffy underparts. There is a localized West African population that shows black underparts, save for a rufous belly. Found in a variety of habitats with a thick understory, including tall grassland, scrub, thickets within savanna, and forest edge. Skulks in the undergrowth, occasionally emerging to sit on an exposed perch, especially when drying out after a rainstorm. Song is a descending and accelerating series of deep “boop” notes. In the small area of overlap with Burchell’s Coucal, separated by the plain black rather than barred top of the tail. Immature has a streaked back and resembles White-browed Coucal but is more rufous below. Much smaller than Black-throated and Coppery-tailed Coucals.
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