Nuttall's Woodpecker

Nuttallspecht ( Picoides nuttallii ) ( ♂ ) fed almost full-fledged nestling.

The Nutallspecht ( Picoides nuttallii ) is a small, indigenous to western North America Buntspecht of the subfamily of the Real woodpeckers. ( Picinae ). He is closely related to the Palaearctic Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor), but is larger and looks a bit darker than this. It was named after Thomas Nuttall, a major, active mainly in North America botanists and ornithologists.

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Appearance

With a body length of about 18 centimeters, the Nuttallspecht is only slightly larger than the native Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, but with a weight up to 45 grams is almost twice as heavy. Black and white dominated the plumage coloration. The top is mostly black, interspersed with relatively narrow, arranged in a ladder-like, white stripes, but these are in turn often easily aspirated gray, so the woodpecker seems overall quite dark and gloomy. The underside is lighter, usually very light gray or off-white and has in the flank area distinct black spots; on the lower abdomen, rump and tail on the underside of a black harness. The face is very dark by the broad black eye mask and connected with this, and the hackle beard strips. The intervening white stripes are narrow and often inconspicuous. Males have a brick-red rear main cap, which is absent in females. Forehead and crown are dashed with different intensity white on a black ground color. Above the upper beak approach is a small orange-yellow bead which is dyed a bit more subtle in the female.

Possible confusion

From the slightly smaller Downy Woodpecker ( P. pubescens), it differs well by the ladder-like arranged white drawings of the back plumage and by the black drawings on belly and rump, both of which are absent in P. pubescens; difficult the way from Texas woodpecker ( P. scalaris ) is to be distinguished, with which the distribution area of ​​Nuttalspechtes overlaps slightly. Overall, the Texas woodpecker also smaller lighter, the ladder drawing of the back (English Ladder -backed Woodpecker ) acts is very distinctive. The yellow upper mandible approach is unobtrusive at the Texas woodpecker. In the face, however predominates when Nuttalspecht Black, White Woodpecker in Texas; the black eye mask is in contrast to the Texas woodpecker connected when Nuttallspecht with the black neck plumage.

System

The Nuttallspecht belongs to a small group of small nearktischer woodpeckers, of which probably also stems from the Palaearctic Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor). Hybridization is occupied by the Downy Woodpecker and the Texas woodpecker. Most of these woodpeckers of the genus Picoides be assigned, previously, they formed the genus Dryobates, a generic name, which will be discussed again today, and occasionally for the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ( Dryobates minor) shall apply. There are no described subspecies.

The nature of hybridized occasionally with the Texas woodpecker and the downy woodpecker.

Distribution and habitat

The Nuttalspecht comes throughout coastal California west of the mountain and desert zones before. Northward he reached the Oregon border, in the southern regions, he occasionally also likely to breed, ranging southward breeding population to the northern Baja California. An isolated population east of the Sierra Nevada is in the valley of the Owens River.

The Nuttallspecht is a characteristic bird lights oak forests and oak trees. In the dry southern distribution areas it is mainly along rivers and are found in the canyon. Taleichen, blue oaks, black oaks and coastal oaks (Quercus agrifolia ) are preferably populated. Often the oak woods with different willow species and stocks of the Western Sycamore and the Oregon maple are mixed. On the Baja California it nests in tree groups along periodic rivers. On foraging woodpeckers is also observed in conifer stands, especially in those of the nut pine.

Nuttallspechte colonize the coastal forests as well as areas up to an altitude of approximately 2000 meters.

Hiking

This species remains throughout the year in the breeding grounds, or at least in the large-scale area. Occasionally autumn hikes seem to occur to higher ground, in particular breeding sites in Canynos are often cleared in the fall.

Food and foraging

Nuttallspechte feed primarily on insects. It mostly involves wood-dwelling beetles and their larvae, ants, principally those of the family of scales ants, caterpillars, termites and flies. Vegetarian food seems seasonal to play a certain role; especially elderberries, conifer seeds are taken in the fall and winter and up to 20 percent of the total amount of food make up. Also almonds are likely to be a not insignificant part of the diet occasionally. When curling Nuttallspechte were not observed, but they exploit Ringel sites of other woodpeckers, especially those of the red-breasted sap -licker ( Sphyrapicus ruber) from. Even natural exit points of tree sap can be used.

The Nuttallspecht catches its food both by surface swaging, by poking into cracks and bark columns and by searching the cortical surface. While searching for food, he is almost exclusively in the middle and upper stem region or in the crown area of ​​the road; on the ground it is very rarely encountered.

Breeding biology

The mating season begins in the southern breeding areas in January, further north until the middle of February, in the mountain regions until the beginning of March. About the pairing itself and the partnership duration is not known, but probably is a largely monogamous breeding season compound. The nest box is beaten almost exclusively by males in an already rotten core or already dead tree, mainly at altitudes over five meters, but often much higher. Willows and poplars seem to be preferred due to their fairly soft wood. Apparently this puts Woodpecker each year to a new nest cavity; it is thus an important breeding cave supplier for other cavity nesters.

Egg-laying begins in the south end of March, in the north until mid-May, and sometimes only the beginning of June, and it often means Nachgelege in June scrims. About the clutch size, there are few information, there is probably a whole clutch of 4-5 ( 2-6) white or off- white, unspotted, elliptical eggs with an average size of 22 x 16 millimeters.

About incubation period, nestlings and management time are no adequate information. An observation detected an incubation period of 14 days and a nestling period of 15 days. Overall, the male seems a little more intense to participate in breeding and feeding the nestlings than the female ..

Stock situation

The total population is roughly 100,000 - estimated 200,000 breeding pairs .. The stocks are considered to be stable, the species is listed in any category of threat.