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Description

Please see my website: birdsofnovasola.blogspot.com/ for more information about this post and the project as a whole.

Red-chinned Woodpecker, Dryocopus rubofaucium L 40-50 cm, WS 70-75 cm, Family: Picidae



Description:

Large, mostly black bird with strong chisel-like bill and triangular pointed crest. Black overall, with white cheek stripe and a bright red crest with a black and white forehead. Males also have a red patch of throat feathers, throat black in females. In flight, a white patch on underside of wings conspicuous, upper side of wings entirely black. Similar to mainland Pileated Woodpecker. Crow sized; the largest woodpecker on Novasola. Difficult to confuse with anything else.

Voice:

Generally quite vocal. Calls typically a series of clear, sharp “wacka wacka” notes, lasting several seconds. Similar to the calls of flickers, only lower and more resonant, and similar to Pileated Woodpecker calls. Both sexes drum on trees throughout the year to establish territories, attract mates, communicate with mates, and intimidate threats. Drumming often low, resonant, and slow and even paced.

Range and Habitat:

Range encompasses most of Novasola, excluding the interior steppe. Forest specialists, they can be found in any forest ecosystem with much standing deadwood and fallen logs, including temperate rainforest, conifer, mixed, and deciduous forests, dry pine and juniper stands, and oak savannah, but they prefer mature, old-growth stands. They may also be found in man-made habitats with large, mature trees like yards, gardens, and parks and will on occasion visit feeders, especially in harsh winters.

Discussion:

Well adapted to Novasolan forests, the Red-chinned Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker on the island and perhaps the most recognizable. Despite the name, only males have red chins, but perhaps their size or red crest best distinguish them from other woodpeckers or crows, which may be the only birds people might confuse them with.

Like other woodpeckers, the Red-chinned forages by clinging to trees, usually large deadwood like standing dead trees, stumps, or fallen logs, and hammering the wood to form large excavations. With these holes the woodpecker gains access to tunnels made by woodboring insects, which it then extracts using its long, barbed tongue. The holes produced by this behavior are large and often rectangular in shape, distinct from holes made by any other Novasolan woodpecker. Many holes are upwards of six inches to a foot tall, and usually around 4 inches wide. The largest recorded single Red-chinned Woodpecker foraging hole excavated was almost four feet tall and eight inches deep. The hammering of these holes creates a loud noise which can sometimes be heard for miles, and woodpeckers often hammer to purposefully produce that sound, which helps them communicate with other birds including mates and rivals.

Mated pairs of Red-chinned Woodpeckers stay together in the same territory, and will defend that territory, throughout the year. Come nesting season they will excavate a large cavity in a mature, living tree which they line with woodchips. They typically have only one brood a year and have average lifespans of up to 13 years. Despite residing year-round in the same area, they will excavate a new nest cavity each year. The Red-chinned Woodpecker is thus a crucial species for forest ecosystems, as many other species use the woodpecker’s old holes, including bats, squirrels, martens, starlings, swifts, wrens, ducks, owls, other woodpeckers, and plenty of other opportunistic animals. They also aid in the decomposition of dead and rotting wood.

Because of their reliance on mature stands and large trees, logging and clearing of forests for development have posed serious threats to the Red-chinned Woodpecker population. As a result, more and more woodpeckers are moving into less suitable habitat like younger forests and suburbs, with some people beginning to consider them pests for damaging planted trees or even wood-sided houses.

One of the older common names for the woodpecker was the Redwood Bird, used mostly by 19th Century loggers, for its habit of nesting in Island Redwoods. Loggers had complex relationships with the bird, as they saw its excavations as destructive but, at the same time, they used the birds as a guide to finding mature stands of large trees. The bird is likewise important to many indigenous groups. The Cishtaklun name for the bird is cayagidaq, meaning “drummer”. Kuliquit peoples of eastern Novasola call it léelk'w’gandaadagóogu, meaning “Grandfather Woodpecker”. The Latin name Dryocopus is the Ancient Greek word for woodpecker, literally meaning “tree-beating” and the species name rubofaucium come from the Latin for “red-throated”.

Please see my website: birdsofnovasola.blogspot.com/ for more information about this post and the project as a whole.

Description

Please see my website: birdsofnovasola.blogspot.com/ for more information about this post and the project as a whole.

Red-chinned Woodpecker, Dryocopus rubofaucium L 40-50 cm, WS 70-75 cm, Family: Picidae



Description:

Large, mostly black bird with strong chisel-like bill and triangular pointed crest. Black overall, with white cheek stripe and a bright red crest with a black and white forehead. Males also have a red patch of throat feathers, throat black in females. In flight, a white patch on underside of wings conspicuous, upper side of wings entirely black. Similar to mainland Pileated Woodpecker. Crow sized; the largest woodpecker on Novasola. Difficult to confuse with anything else.

Voice:

Generally quite vocal. Calls typically a series of clear, sharp “wacka wacka” notes, lasting several seconds. Similar to the calls of flickers, only lower and more resonant, and similar to Pileated Woodpecker calls. Both sexes drum on trees throughout the year to establish territories, attract mates, communicate with mates, and intimidate threats. Drumming often low, resonant, and slow and even paced.

Range and Habitat:

Range encompasses most of Novasola, excluding the interior steppe. Forest specialists, they can be found in any forest ecosystem with much standing deadwood and fallen logs, including temperate rainforest, conifer, mixed, and deciduous forests, dry pine and juniper stands, and oak savannah, but they prefer mature, old-growth stands. They may also be found in man-made habitats with large, mature trees like yards, gardens, and parks and will on occasion visit feeders, especially in harsh winters.

Discussion:

Well adapted to Novasolan forests, the Red-chinned Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker on the island and perhaps the most recognizable. Despite the name, only males have red chins, but perhaps their size or red crest best distinguish them from other woodpeckers or crows, which may be the only birds people might confuse them with.

Like other woodpeckers, the Red-chinned forages by clinging to trees, usually large deadwood like standing dead trees, stumps, or fallen logs, and hammering the wood to form large excavations. With these holes the woodpecker gains access to tunnels made by woodboring insects, which it then extracts using its long, barbed tongue. The holes produced by this behavior are large and often rectangular in shape, distinct from holes made by any other Novasolan woodpecker. Many holes are upwards of six inches to a foot tall, and usually around 4 inches wide. The largest recorded single Red-chinned Woodpecker foraging hole excavated was almost four feet tall and eight inches deep. The hammering of these holes creates a loud noise which can sometimes be heard for miles, and woodpeckers often hammer to purposefully produce that sound, which helps them communicate with other birds including mates and rivals.

Mated pairs of Red-chinned Woodpeckers stay together in the same territory, and will defend that territory, throughout the year. Come nesting season they will excavate a large cavity in a mature, living tree which they line with woodchips. They typically have only one brood a year and have average lifespans of up to 13 years. Despite residing year-round in the same area, they will excavate a new nest cavity each year. The Red-chinned Woodpecker is thus a crucial species for forest ecosystems, as many other species use the woodpecker’s old holes, including bats, squirrels, martens, starlings, swifts, wrens, ducks, owls, other woodpeckers, and plenty of other opportunistic animals. They also aid in the decomposition of dead and rotting wood.

Because of their reliance on mature stands and large trees, logging and clearing of forests for development have posed serious threats to the Red-chinned Woodpecker population. As a result, more and more woodpeckers are moving into less suitable habitat like younger forests and suburbs, with some people beginning to consider them pests for damaging planted trees or even wood-sided houses.

One of the older common names for the woodpecker was the Redwood Bird, used mostly by 19th Century loggers, for its habit of nesting in Island Redwoods. Loggers had complex relationships with the bird, as they saw its excavations as destructive but, at the same time, they used the birds as a guide to finding mature stands of large trees. The bird is likewise important to many indigenous groups. The Cishtaklun name for the bird is cayagidaq, meaning “drummer”. Kuliquit peoples of eastern Novasola call it léelk'w’gandaadagóogu, meaning “Grandfather Woodpecker”. The Latin name Dryocopus is the Ancient Greek word for woodpecker, literally meaning “tree-beating” and the species name rubofaucium come from the Latin for “red-throated”.

Please see my website: birdsofnovasola.blogspot.com/ for more information about this post and the project as a whole.