Great Slaty Woodpecker - BirdForum Opus

Male
Photo by robby thai
Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand, September 2015

Mulleripicus pulverulentus

Identification

About 50 cm (19¾ in) Large size should be noticable.

• Long bill, neck and tail
  

Male

• Pale red cheek patch
• Cream throat

Distribution

Female
Photo by robby thai
Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand, September 2015

Asia, China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan
Southeast Asia:
Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Java and Bali

Widespread in the Oriental mainland and islands.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies^[1]:

• M. p. mohun:

• Northern India and Nepal to northern Arunachal Pradesh

• M. p. harterti:

• Northeeast India south of the Brahmaputra River to northern Myanmar, south-western China and Indochina

• M. p. pulverulentus:

• Malay Peninsula to Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Balabac and Palawan

Habitat

Moist deciduous and tropical evergreen forests and nearby secondary forests.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of insects (ants, termites, beetle larva and bees). Possibly fruit is eaten too.

References

1. Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
3. Avibase
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved September 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Great Slaty Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Great_Slaty_Woodpecker

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