Grey-and-buff woodpecker

The grey-and-buff woodpecker (Hemicircus concretus) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia (Sumatra and Borneo), Malaysia, southern Myanmar, and southern Thailand, but has become regionally extinct in Singapore. Its natural habitats are lowland and montane tropical or subtropical moist broadleaf forests.

Grey-and-buff woodpecker
Female with grey forehead
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Hemicircus
Species:
H. concretus
Binomial name
Hemicircus concretus
(Temminck, 1821)

Taxonomy

The grey-and-buff woodpecker was formally described by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1821 and given the binomial name Picus concretus.[2] The type locality is western and central Java.[3] The species is now placed in the genus Hemicircus that was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist William John Swainson.[4][5]

Two subspecies are recognised:[5]

The species is sometimes split with H. concretus as the red-crested woodpecker and H. sordidus as the grey-and-buff woodpecker.[1][6]

Description

The species has a plump body and short rounded tail, and grows to a length of about 13.5 cm (5.3 in). The head appears large because of the slender neck and the large, cone-shaped crest. The head is largely grey, with a fine white, wavy line running from the cheek to the mantle. In males the forehead is red and the crest grey, while in females, both are grey. Body upper parts and wings are blackish, the feathers being edged with white or buff giving a scalloped effect. Underparts are grey, the tail and underwing dark, and the legs are grey or brown. The beak is long, slender and grey with a black tip, and the iris is chestnut. A gland of unknown function is on the back, the secretions from which sometimes stain the white rump.[7]

Distribution and habitat

This woodpecker is native to tropical southeastern Asia. Its range extends from southern Myanmar and peninsular Thailand and Malaysia, to Sumatra and Borneo. It is a resident species found in lowland and mid-elevation evergreen rainforests, particularly clearings and forest edges, also in plantations, bamboo thickets, cleared areas, wooded urban areas and cultivated land.[7]

Behaviour and ecology

The grey-and-buff woodpecker is usually seen singly or in pairs, but sometimes occurs in mixed species flocks foraging in the canopy. It mainly feeds by gleaning rather than by drilling into the wood, the diet consisting of insects and fruit, including mistletoe (Loranthus) berries.[8] The birds roost communally at night in shallow holes they excavate near each other in dead wood.[7] Nesting takes place in deeper holes or crevices, the breeding season being between December and July.[8]

Status

Although H. concretus occurs in a range of habitats, numbers are thought to be in gradual decline through loss of habitat, and it has become locally extinct in Singapore. It has a very large range and is generally described as being uncommon.[1] The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Hemicircus sordidus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22727220A94943980. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22727220A94943980.en.
  2. Temminck, Coenraad Jacob (1838) [1821]. Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux, pour servir de suite et de complément aux planches enluminées de Buffon (in French). Volume 4. Paris: F.G. Levrault. Plate 90. The 5 volumes were originally issued in 102 parts, 1820-1839
  3. Peters, James Lee, ed. (1948). Check-List of Birds of the World. Volume 6. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 223.
  4. Swainson, William John (1837). On the Natural History and Classification of Birds. Volume 2. London: John Taylor. p. 306.
  5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Woodpeckers". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  6. BirdLife International (2016). "Hemicircus concretus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  7. Gorman, Gerard (2014). Woodpeckers of the World: A Photographic Guide. Firefly Books. pp. 97–99. ISBN 978-1770853096.
  8. del Hoyo, J.; Winkler, H.; Collar, N.; Kirwan, G.M. (2020). Billerman, S.M.; Keeney, B.K.; Rodewald, P.G.; Schulenberg, T.S. (eds.). "Gray-and-buff Woodpecker (Hemicircus concretus), version 1.0". Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.gabwoo3.01.
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