The Chilean flicker (''Colaptes pitius'') 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 Picinae containing the true woodpeckers is one of four subfamilies that make up the woodpecker family Picidae. True woodpeckers are found over much of the world, but do not occur in Madagascar or Australasia. Woodpeckers gained their English nam ...

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

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The Chilean flicker was originally described as ''Picus Pitius''. For a time it was put in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus ''Pituipicus'' that was later merged into ''Colaptes''. The Chilean flicker and

Andean flicker The Andean flicker (''Colaptes rupicola'') is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. Taxonomy and systematics The Andean flicker was for a time pla ...

(''C. rupicola'') are

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

.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 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022 The Chilean flicker is

Description

The Chilean flicker is about long and weighs . Males and females have the same

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

except on their heads. Adult males are dark slate gray from forehead to nape; the last occasionally has a hint of red. They are buffish from their lores around the eye to the nape with fine black or black and red spots on the malar area that show as a diffuse patch. Their chin and throat are buffish white with black spots on the lower throat. Adult females have a buffish malar area with no spots and never any red on the nape. Both sexes have blackish brown upperparts with narrow white to buff-white bars; their rump is white with sometimes a few black spots. Their flight feathers are dark brown with pale shafts. The top side of their tail is brown-black; the central and outermost feathers have narrow white bars. Their tail's underside is yellowish with ill-defined bars. Their underparts are whitish with wide blackish brown bars on the breast and a mostly plain belly. Their longish bill is black, their iris whitish to yellowish, and the legs gray to green-gray. Juveniles are similar to adults but with brown eyes, a blacker crown, wider bars above, and more spots below.Winkler, H. and D. A. Christie (2020). Chilean Flicker (''Colaptes pitius''), 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.chifli1.01 retrieved January 30, 2023

Distribution and habitat

The Chilean flicker is found in central and southern Chile from the Coquimbo Region to central

Magallanes Region The Magallanes Region (), officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region () or Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctica Region in English, is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is the southernmost, largest, and sec ...

and in adjacent southwestern Argentina between

Neuquén Neuquén (; ) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers which form t ...

and Santa Cruz provinces. It inhabits the temperate and

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

zones. There it favors semi-open to open landscapes like the edges and openings in forest, open woodlands,

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripar ...

woodland, tree plantations, and scrublands. In elevation it mostly ranges between though it can be found near sea level in winter.

Behavior

Movement

The Chilean flicker is mostly resident throughout its range though it might be somewhat nomadic.

Feeding

The Chilean flicker feeds almost entirely on adult ants, their larvae, and their pupae. It usually forages in family groups, usually on the ground though not far from trees. It hops about, poking, digging, and sweeping aside debris. It will investigate fallen logs and stumps but very rarely forages in trees.

Breeding

The Chilean flicker's breeding season is believed to be between October and December. It excavates a nest cavity in a dead tree or snag and sometimes in an earthen bank. It is thought to be highly territorial. The clutch size is four to six eggs. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.

Vocalization

The Chilean flicker's vocalizations include "long 'wic wic wic' series", a "whistled variable 'kwee', singly or in series", and a "week-a, week-a".

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 Chilean flicker as being of Least Concern. It has a large range, and though its population size is not known it is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. It occurs in several protected areas and is considered rather common.

References

External links

Aves de Chile: Chilean flicker
- Description and photos {{Taxonbar, from=Q1261895 Chilean flicker Birds of Chile Birds of the Southern Andes Chilean flicker Taxonomy articles created by Polbot