Smoky-brown woodpecker
Smoky-brown woodpecker | |
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Female in NW Ecuador | |
Scientific classification | |
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Species: | L. fumigatus
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Binomial name | |
Leuconotopicus fumigatus (D'Orbigny, 1840)
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Subspecies | |
L. f. fumigatus | |
Synonyms | |
Veniliornis fumigatus |
The smoky-brown woodpecker or brown woodpecker (Leuconotopicus fumigatus) is a species of bird in the Picidae family.
It is found in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
Habitat
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and heavily degraded former forest. P. f. fumigatus is found mostly in the northern Amazon region. P. f. obscuratus is found from northwest Peru to northwest Argentina. P. f. oleagineus is found in eastern Mexico. V. f. reichenbachi is found in northern South America. And P. f. sanguinolentus is found throughout Central America
Description
Adult woodpeckers are 15–17 cm (5.9–6.7 in) in height and weigh about 31–50 g (1.1–1.8 oz). They are characteristically dark brown. The adult male has gray, red-tipped nape feathers and tawny scapular feathers. The adult female has brown-tipped nape feathers, and juvenile woodpeckers have noticeably duller feathers.
Behavior
The smoky-brown woodpecker seems to prefer smaller tree trunks to larger ones. Their diet favors small beetles and larvae. Leuconotopicus fumigatus often travels in pairs or in family groups, sometimes with other species. They nest from February to May, making their nest 1.5–7.6 m (4 ft 11 in – 24 ft 11 in) off the forest floor. They have a clutch size of 4 eggs.
References
- Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Smoky Brown Woodpecker. Accessed 5 July 2009.