Woodpeckers of the World: Picid in Focus: Levaillant's Woodpecker Picus vaillantii

Thursday 24 March 2011

Picid in Focus: Levaillant's Woodpecker Picus vaillantii

This monotypic species is resident in mainly mature montane forests of pine, oak and cedar in north Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). It was formally considered a race of Eurasian Green Woodpecker. In plumage it is most like Iberian race of that species. This male (note all-red crown, both sexes have black malar stripes) photographed in Morocco in February 2011 by Vaughan Ashby.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Background

Woodpeckers, the Picidae, are Piciformes, an order that includes some of the oldest avian lineages. The Piciformes probably originated about 60 million years ago in the Tertiary period and became distinct from their closest relatives some 50 million years ago. Depending upon which taxonomy is followed, and the fact that the status of some species is unclear, around 240-260 woodpecker species probably exist globally. The Picidae includes three subfamilies: Jynginae (wrynecks), Picumninae (piculets) and the Picinae, the “true woodpeckers”. In terms of size, behaviour, distribution and the habitats they use, the Picinae are a fairly diverse group of birds with six distinct tribes. They are widespread and found from sea-level to high-altitudes but absent from the Arctic, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and some other islands. Worldwide woodpeckers are usually, but not exclusively, associated with trees.