Alternative name: Himalayan Pied Woodpecker
- Dendrocopos himalayensis
Identification
23–25 cm (9-9¾ in)
Male
- Buffy forehead
- Red crown to nape, maybe with some blackish spotting
Distribution
Asia: found from Himalayas of Afghanistan to Nepal.
Taxonomy
Female Nominate subspecies
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dist. Almora, Alt. 6500ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, October-2018
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dist. Almora, Alt. 6500ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, October-2018
Subspecies
There are 2 subspecies[1]:
- D. h. albescens:
- North-eastern Afghanistan (Safed Koh) and northern Pakistan to Himachal Pradesh
- D. h. himalayensis:
Habitat
Groves and light forests. Dense dry and wet coniferous forests. Observed at heights around 7000ft.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists of insects and their larvae, including wood-boring beetles. Also plant material, including pine cone seeds.
Female subspecies D. h. albescens
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh, India, June 2014
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh, India, June 2014
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved September 2015)
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2018) : https://www.hbw.com/species/himalayan-woodpecker-dendrocopos-himalayensis#Descriptive_notes
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Himalayan Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Himalayan_Woodpecker
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
