The powerful woodpecker (''Campephilus pollens'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in subfamily Picinae of the

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...

family Picidae. It is found in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Taxonomy

The powerful woodpecker was for a time placed in genus ''Scapaneus'', which was merged into genus ''Phloeoceastes'', which in turn was merged into the current ''Campephilus''.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 30 January 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 30, 2023 The powerful woodpecker has two subspecies, the

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In th ...

''C. p. pollens'' ( Bonaparte, 1845) and ''P. c. peruvianus'' (

Cory As a given name, Cory is used by both males and females. It is a variation of the name Cora, meaning "(the) Maiden", which is a title of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in a cauldr ...

, 1915).

Description

The powerful woodpecker is about long. The sexes differ only on their heads: Adult males are red from their forehead to their crest; females are black there. Both sexes of the nominate subspecies have a black and white face including the throat; the white is a wide band from the lores to below the rear of the ear

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

and from there down the side of the neck. Both sexes have a black hindneck, mantle,

scapulars The scapula (: scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on either side ...

, and upper back with narrow white stripes on either side. Their lower back and rump are white and their uppertail coverts black. Their wings' top surface is black with white tips on the

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

and some white spots or bars on the secondaries. Their wings' undersides are blackish with white bars. Their tail is black. The center of their breast is black and the rest of their underparts are cinnamon-buff with black bars or chevrons. Their bill is a long black chisel, their iris white or pinkish white, and their legs dark gray. Juveniles resemble adults but are duller and browner with more bars on their upperparts and wider ones on their underparts. Subspecies ''P. c. peruvianus'' differs from the nominate with a cinnamon-buff lower back and rump, often with black bars, and also often cinnamon-buff bars on the black uppertail coverts.Winkler, H. and D. A. Christie (2020). Powerful Woodpecker (''Campephilus pollens''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.powwoo1.01 retrieved February 6, 2023

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of the powerful woodpecker is found in the Andes from north-central Colombia and southwestern Venezuela south through Ecuador almost to Peru. Subspecies ''P. c. peruvianus'' is found on the east slope of the Peruvian Andes as far south as the

Department of Junín Junín () is a Departments of Peru, department and Political division of Peru, region in the central highland (geography), highlands and westernmost Peruvian Amazon. Its capital is Huancayo. Geography The region has a very heterogeneous to ...

. The species mostly inhabits the interior and edges of mature

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

, humid and wet forest, and

cloudforest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, ...

. It also occurs in

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

and other more open forest. In elevation it ranges from but is found mostly between .

Behavior

Movement

The powerful woodpecker is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The powerful woodpecker forages at all levels of the forest interior, often in pairs. No details of its diet are known.

Breeding

The powerful woodpecker's breeding season is believed to be from April to August. The only fully described nests were in dead tree trunks. One nest had two eggs and the other a single nestling. At the first nest the incubation period was at least 16 days and fledging occurred 34 to 37 days after hatch. It appears that both parents incubated the eggs.

Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The powerful woodpecker's most common call is a "nasal 'kyaaah' or 'peeyáw', often repeated". It also makes a "fast 'kikikikikawh'" in flight and a "descending 'kikikiki-keh-keh-kah-kah'" when excited. Its drum is "a brief double tap".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the powerful woodpecker as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered rare to local throughout its range and occurs in a few protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1270221 powerful woodpecker Birds of the Northern Andes powerful woodpecker powerful woodpecker Taxonomy articles created by Polbot