Robust Woodpecker

Scarlet head woodpeckers, Couple ( male above )

The scarlet head woodpecker ( Campephilus robustus ) is a neotropical species has in the genus Campephilus. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.

Features

The scarlet head woodpecker reaches a size of 32-37 cm and a weight of 230-294 g The male has a small, oval, black and white spot on the lower rear ear-coverts. The rest of the head, the small cap and the neck are scarlet up to the top chest area. Often, some black and tan feather bases are visible, especially on the neck and sides of the head ( as will be seen especially in abraded plumage ). The whitish upper surface has a pale yellow-brown or cinnamon-colored tint. The upper mantle and the flanks are characterized by some black napkins. The upper wing, the wing-coverts and shoulders are black. On the inner webs of secondaries and there are small reddish- yellow brown spots. The upper tail is black. The underside is yellow-brown to beige white and black banded from the chest. On the abdominal bandages are narrow or absent. The lower wings are dark brown. The ceiling of the hand and arm swings have reddish- yellow brown spots. The long beak is nearly straight, chisel-shaped and wide over the nostrils. Its coloration is horn-colored. The iris is white to yellow- white. The legs are dark gray. In the female, the ear-coverts spot is missing. Instead runs a black -lined, wide, white cheeks lining of the beak base to the lower ear-coverts. The chin is blackish. The juvenile birds are duller in color than the adult birds. You are more brownish and less banded down at the bottom. The coverts are usually not ties. The top is generally intense white. The facial pattern corresponds to that of adult female. The young male has red spring peaks in the cheek lining area.

Vocalizations

The call, consisting of kee - or kew - tones, can be heard both in the sitting position as well as in flight. Next there are a number of PSO ko po -po -po -po - RRAT - sounds. The drumming is a double pounding of a to- Plop or thump - ump, which is composed to hear one to three times per minute.

Dissemination

The distribution area of the scarlet head woodpecker extends from eastern Brazil (south of southern Bahia and eastern Goiás) south to eastern Paraguay to north-eastern Argentina ( Misiones, Corrientes ) and Rio Grande do Sul.

Habitat

The scarlet head woodpecker inhabits moist forests and Araucaria forests in the lowlands to 1000 m and in the mountains up to 2200 m. In disturbed forests, it occurs only when enough large trees are present.

Food behavior

The food range includes beetles, wood-boring larvae and occasionally berries. The scarlet head woodpecker is a state bird, which is singly to observe in pairs or in family groups. He rarely closes mixed groups of birds. He goes to all tree regions in search of food, with a slight preference for the middle floor. On the ground he flies rare. He prefers large, living or dead trees and mostly visited the trunks or crotches. With its beak chops and he hammered vigorously, the hammers can rarely produce large cavities. When drilling for larvae also bark is removed.

Reproductive behavior

From the breeding behavior of two observations from October and January are known, the woodpeckers had built in 3.5 to 4.5 m height nests in dead trees. In another nest box, which was built in May, was in July, a cub. The only known courtship behavior is spreading the wings.

Status

BirdLife International classifies the scarlet head woodpecker as " not at risk " ( least concern ). In the south of its range it is not rare. It comes in a number of protected areas before, including the National Park Caaguazú and the Refugio de Vida Silvestre Estancia San Antonio ( Paraguay), in Iguazú National Park in Argentina and in the Iguaçu National Park in Brazil, in the Parque Estadual do Desengano, in Itatiaia National Park, the National Park Serra dos Órgãos, in the National Park Araucárias, Reserva Volta Velha in, in the Floresta Nacional de Passo Fundo, as well as in the Parque Estadual de Rondinha in Rio Grande do Sul. According to observations further south in Rio Grande do Sul, its range in southeastern Brazil is likely to be greater than previously thought. The species is sensitive to forest fragmentation.