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The cream-colored woodpecker (''Celeus flavus'') is a species of
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
in subfamily Picinae of the
woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird 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 polar region ...
family Picidae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.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. 30 January 2023. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved January 30, 2023


Taxonomy and systematics

The
International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...
(IOC) assigns two subspecies to the cream-colored woodpecker, 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. f. flavus'' (
Statius Muller Publius Papinius Statius (Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; ; ) was a Greco-Roman poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving Latin poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid''; a collection of occasional poetry, ...
, 1776) and ''C.f. subflavus'' ( Sclater, P.L. & Salvin, 1877). Until 2014 the IOC had included two more subspecies, ''C.f. peruvianus'' (
Cory As a given name, Cory is used by both males and females. It is a variation of the name Cora, which has Greek origins and is the maiden name of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in a ...
, 1919) and ''C.f. tectricialis'' (
Hellmayr Carl Eduard Hellmayr (29 January 1878 in Vienna, Austria – 24 February 1944 in Orselina, Switzerland) was an Austrian ornithologist. Biography Hellmayr was born in Vienna and studied at the University of Vienna, although he did not complete h ...
, 1922) but that year merged them into the nominate. As of early 2023 the
Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...
and
BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
's ''
Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...
'' retain all four subspecies.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022 The subspecies "
intergrade In zoology, intergradation is the way in which two distinct subspecies are connected via areas where populations are found that have the characteristics of both. There are two types of intergradation: primary and secondary intergradation. Primar ...
extensively, producing numerous intermediates, and in much of range many individuals reimpossible to assign to a particular race; geographical limits given are therefore somewhat arbitrary."Winkler, H., D. A. Christie, and A. Bonan (2020). Cream-colored Woodpecker (''Celeus flavus''), 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.crcwoo2.01 retrieved February 5, 2023 Because the four subspecies do on average have plumage differences, this article follows the four-subspecies model where data for each exist.


Description

The cream-colored woodpecker is about long. The nominate subspecies weighs and ''C.f. subflavus'' about . All of the subspecies are mostly yellowish with a long crest and a black tail. The "yellowish" varies among individuals from pale creamy yellow to sulfur-yellow and occasionally is cinnamon-white. Adult males have a bright red
malar Malar may refer to: Places Tamil Nadu, India * Malarajamkuppam, Kandamangalam block, Viluppuram Taluk, Viluppuram District * Malarasankuppam, Gingee Taluk, Viluppuram District * Thirumalarajapuram, Poonamallee Taluk, Thiruvallur District * Th ...
stripe; females have no red. The adult's bill is yellowish, their iris red or red-brown, and their legs dark gray to green-gray. Juveniles resemble adults but are usually buffier or tending to cinnamon-buff. The subspecies differ chiefly in size and the color of their wings. The nominate's flight feathers are brown with much rufous-chestnut and also black
tertials Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tai ...
. Its wing
coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are s ...
are usually brown or rufous-brown. Subspecies ''C.f. peruvianus'' is slightly larger than the nominate, and its flight feathers replace most of the rufous with brown. Subspecies ''C.f. tectricialis'' is about the same size as the nominate, with mostly brown wing coverts and much less rufous in the flight feathers. Subspecies ''C.f. subflavus'' is the largest. Much of its body plumage has wide brown bases, its wing coverts have much yellowish, and its flight feathers have no rufous.


Distribution and habitat

The four subspecies of the cream-colored woodpecker are distributed thus: *''C. f. flavus'', eastern Colombia east in southwestern and northeastern Venezuela,
the Guianas The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France ...
, and northeastern Brazil, and south through eastern Ecuador to northern Bolivia, and in western Brazil to
Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, a ...
. *''C.f. peruvianus'', eastern Peru *''C.f. tectricialis'',
Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
state in northeastern Brazil *''C.f. subflavus'', eastern and southeastern Brazil from
Alagoas Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. ...
south to
Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist att ...
The cream-colored woodpecker inhabits a variety of
humid forest Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...
landscapes, often near water. These include the interior and edges of rainforest, '' várzea'', and swamp forest. It occurs less frequently in
gallery forest A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate abov ...
, magroves, deciduous and open woodland, and
secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...
. It also occurs in human-altered landscapes such as cacao plantations. In elevation it is mostly found below but does range up to .


Behavior


Movement

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


Feeding

The cream-colored woodpecker's primary diet is ants and termites, and includes lesser but still significant amounts of fruits and seeds. It generally forages at the forest's lower to middle level but will feed in the canopy and on the ground. It sometimes feeds alone but usually feeds in pairs or small groups. It captures much of its ant and termite prey by breaking into their arboreal nests.


Breeding

The cream-colored woodpecker's breeding season apparently varies geographically but has not been fully defined. It nests between April and June in Colombia and maybe earlier in Venezuela; in Suriname the season includes February. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.


Vocalization

The cream-colored woodpecker makes "a high-pitched laugh, 'wutchuk kee-hoo-hoo-hoo'", also described as "pueer, pueer, purr, paw". Other calls include "kiu-kiu-kiu-kiu" and "whéejah"; the latter is used in encounters with others of its species and may be repeated.


Status

The IUCN has assessed the cream-colored woodpecker as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is thought to be generally "rather uncommon" though very common in Venezuela. It occurs in several protected areas.


References


External links


Stamps
(for Colombia) with RangeMap
Cream-colored woodpecker photo gallery
VIREO
Photo-High Res
webserv.nhl.nl—Birds of Suriname {{Taxonbar, from=Q549537 cream-colored woodpecker Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of the Guianas cream-colored woodpecker Birds of Brazil cream-colored woodpecker