African Piculet
Verreauxia africana
A tiny woodpecker of forest and forest edge, more likely to be mistaken for a crombec than for another species of woodpecker. A squat bird with a round body, a large head, a short, stout bill, and a very short tail. Body is gray overall with greenish wings, white markings around the ears, and orange around the eyes. Males have an orange forehead. Voice is a weak trilling “si-si-si-si-si.”
识别特征
The African piculet is a small bird some 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long. The male has a chestnut or reddish forehead and a greyish-green or olive-green crown whereas the forehead in the female is the same colour as the crown. The rest of the upper parts are rather dark green tinged with yellow. The wings and tail are brownish-black. The throat and breast are darkish grey and the belly is a slightly paler grey. The beak is black, the eye red and the legs reddish. The juvenile is similar to the adult but has grey or buffy tones mixed into the general hue of the plumage.
分类信息
The African piculet was formally described in 1855 by the French naturalists Jules and Édouard Verreaux from a specimen collected in Gabon, West Africa. They placed it in the genus Sasia and coined the binomial name Sasia africana. The African piculet is now the only species placed in the genus Verreauxia that was introduced in 1856 by the German ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- 学名
- Verreauxia africana
- 命名信息
- (Verreaux, J & Verreaux, É, 1855)
- 目
- Columbiformes
- 科
- Columbidae
- 属
- Verreauxia
分布与栖息地
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
The habitat of the African piculet is mainly lowland secondary forest. It is an active bird often seen flitting from place to place in pairs or threesomes, and sometimes joining mixed species flocks. It forages through the lower storeys of trees, bushes and dense vegetation. It is a relative of the woodpecker, and despite its small size, hammers its beak into branches and splits stems to get at beetle larvae. It also gleans other insects but seems uninterested in ants. Breeding has been observed between June and February in various parts of its range. The nest is built within 5 metres (16 ft) of the ground and the clutch size is usually two. Both parents are involved in raising the young.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
其他鸟类
Red-crested Bustard
Lophotis ruficrista
A medium-sized, black-bellied bustard with diagnostic white chevrons on a brown-and-black mottled back. The male has a brown-gray neck and slaty cap, and the female is plainer. The name is misleading, as the red crest is almost always hidden. It walks slowly and steadily in arid woodlands, where it is common but due to its camouflage often avoids detection. The song is a sequence of clicking “tic-tic” notes that are followed by a mournful piping “sweee-swee-sweee sweet” series that accelerates to a crescendo. The male indulges in an absurd display in which he flies nearly vertically into the sky and then folds his wings and somersaults down as if shot, only to unbelievably land on his feet. In flight the Red-crested Bustard’s all-black underwings differentiate it from Black-bellied Bustard, which has white windows in the underwing.
Masatierra Petrel
Pterodroma defilippiana
Small but rather stocky and stout-billed petrel of subtropical eastern Pacific and Humboldt Current; not seen from mainland. One of several similar species, Masatierra is best identified by gray head and collar at sides of neck, rather stout bill, and plain grayish tail without a black tip. Much smaller than Juan Fernandez Petrel with quick wheeling flight unlike more easy and less hurried-looking flight of Juan. Also compare with Stejneger’s and Cook’s Petrels.
Black-chinned Sparrow
Spizella atrogularis
Long-tailed, pale gray sparrow with contrasting brown back and small pink bill. Face of breeding male looks like it's covered in soot. Reminiscent of Dark-eyed Junco but juncos show prominent white in tail; also note Black-chinned Sparrow's streaked back and brown edges on wing feathers. Prefers shrubby hillsides and slopes with large bushes and rocky outcroppings, from the southwestern U.S. to central Mexico. Song is often likened to a dropped ping-pong ball: an accelerating series of notes, not as clear-toned as Field Sparrow.
开始您的观鸟之旅
在户外识别鸟类，并在下一次观察时随手查阅鸟类图鉴。