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White-naped Woodpecker - BirdForum Opus

Chrysocolaptes festivus
Nominate subspecies, male
Photo © by drkishore
Srisailam Tiger Reserve, India, 1 March 2019

Identification

Subspecies C. f. tantus, male
Photo © by Swift
Photographed in Sri Lanka.

29 cm (11½ in)

  • White hind-neck extends down the back
  • Black shoulder patches continue onto the back to form a V-shape bordering the white
  • Golden-yellow upperparts and wings
  • Black rump and tail
  • White underparts with dark chevron markings
  • White head
  • Dark moustachial stripe
  • Black eye patch that extends down the neck sides

Adult male: red crown
Adult female: yellow crown
Young birds: similar to the female, but duller.

Distribution

Asia: found in Nepal, peninsula India and Sri Lanka..

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Subspecies C. f. tantus, female
Photo © by martinuk
Tissamaharama Tank, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, March 2015

There are 2 subspecies[1]:

  • C. f. festivus:
  • Lowlands and hills of south-western Nepal and most of India
  • C. f. tantus:

Habitat

Light deciduous forests and scrub. Also cultivated areas with scattered trees.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists of ants and wood-boring insect larva. They also eat seeds and fruit.

Breeding

It nests in a tree hole. The clutch consists of 1-2 white eggs.

Nominate subspecies, female
Photo © by drkishore
Srisailam Tiger Reserve, India, 1 March 2019

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2015)

Recommended Citation

External Links

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