Olive Woodpecker

Identificazione

The olive woodpecker (Dendropicos griseocephalus) is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is in the Dendropicos genus, which comprises small woodpeckers native to Sub-Saharan Africa. There are three described subspecies, all inhabiting various regions of southeast Africa; the red-bellied olive woodpecker (D. g. ruwenzori), the montane olive woodpecker (D. g. kilimensis), and the southern olive woodpecker (D. g. griseocephalus). The olive woodpecker can be characterized by its bright red rump, and bronze coloured upper body. The red-bellied subspecies is known to be slightly brighter in colour, with a more prominent belly patch. The montane subspecies is the smallest of the three recognized subspecies. These birds occupy a range of densely wooded and forested habitats from 450–3,700 m (1,480–12,140 ft). This species is insectivorous, often seen foraging for ants and beetles in mossy trees. The olive woodpecker produces a wide range of vocalizations from alarm calls, to specific take-off and flight sounds. This species also makes use of breeding calls to attract mates. Breeding season is variable, and depends on the area each population inhabits. It can last anywhere from 1 to 8 months. Clutch size is small —2 to 3 eggs per clutch—and chick rearing responsibilities are shared between both parents.

Tassonomia

The olive woodpecker was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen obtained from the Cape of Good Hope area of South Africa. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Picus griseocephalus in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The olive woodpecker is now placed in the genus Dendropicos that was introduced by the French ornithologist Alfred Malherbe in 1849. The generic name is from the Ancient Greek dendron meaning tree and pikos for woodpecker. The specific epithet griseocephalus combines the Medieval Latin griseus meaning "grey" and the Ancient Greek -kephalos meaning "-headed".<p>Three subspecies are recognised:

Nome scientifico

Dendropicos griseocephalus

Autorità

(Boddaert, 1783)

Ordine

Piciformi

Famiglia

Picidae

Genere

Dendropicos

Areale e habitat

The olive woodpecker is native to central, east and southern Africa, from the Ruwenzori Mountains to the Western Cape. It is found in Angola, Burundi, DRC, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The species occupies a range of wooded and forested habitats from 450–3,700 m (1,480–12,140 ft).

Migrazione

Specie stanziale

Comportamento

Comportamento migratorio: Specie stanziale.

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione: stabile.

Tendenza della popolazione

stabile