The Magellanic woodpecker (''Campephilus magellanicus'') is a species of large

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 ...

found in southern Chile and southwestern Argentina; it is resident within its range. This species is the southernmost example of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Campephilus ''Campephilus'' is a genus of large American woodpeckers in the family Picidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Campephilus'' was introduced by English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1840, with the ivory-billed woodpecker (''Campephilus principalis'') as ...

'', which includes the famous

ivory-billed woodpecker The ivory-billed woodpecker (''Campephilus principalis'') is a woodpecker native to the Southern United States and Cuba. Habitat destruction and hunting have reduced populations so severely that the last universally accepted sighting in the Uni ...

(''C. principalis'').

Description

The Magellanic woodpecker is in length.''Woodpeckers: An Identification Guide to the Woodpeckers of the World'' by Hans Winkler, David A. Christie & David Nurney. Houghton Mifflin (1995), Males of this species weigh , and females weigh . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the

tail The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...

is , the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

is , and the tarsus is . It is the largest

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n woodpecker and one of the largest woodpeckers in the world. Among the species known to exist, only the non-

neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

al members of the genus ''

Dryocopus ''Dryocopus'' is a genus of large powerful woodpeckers, typically 35–45 cm in length. It has representatives in North and South America, Europe, and Asia; some South American species are endangered. It was believed to be closely related to ...

'' and the

great slaty woodpecker The great slaty woodpecker (''Mulleripicus pulverulentus'') is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. A unique and basically unmistakable bird, it is the largest known species of wo ...

(''Mulleripicus pulverulentus'') are larger-bodied. With the likely extinction of the ivory-billed and

imperial woodpecker The imperial woodpecker (''Campephilus imperialis'') is a woodpecker species endemic to Mexico. If it is not extinct, it is the world's largest woodpecker species, at long. Owing to its close taxonomic relationship, and its similarity in appeara ...

s (''Campephilus imperialis''), the Magellanic woodpecker is the largest living species of the genus ''Campephilus''. With an average weight of in males and in females, it is perhaps the heaviest certainly extant woodpecker in the Americas. This species is mainly pure black, with a white wing patch and a grey, chisel-like beak. Males have a crimson head and crest. Females have a mainly black head, but an area of red coloration occurs near the base of the bill. Juvenile Magellanic woodpeckers resemble females of the species, but have a smaller crest and have a browner tinge to their plumage. In its range, this bird is unmistakable in appearance. Several vocalizations are emitted by both sexes. Further information is needed to ascertain the function and role of these sounds. One frequent vocalization is an explosive, nasal call (' or ') given single or in a series (up to seven, sometimes more). Another loud call, usually from pairs, is a gargling call, which normally is emitted in series: ' or '. Like many

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in ''Campephilus'', their drum is a loud double knock.

Habitat

Magellanic woodpeckers inhabit mature ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...

'' and ''Nothofagus-

Austrocedrus ''Austrocedrus'' is a genus of conifer belonging to the cypress family (Cupressaceae). It has only one species, ''Austrocedrus chilensis'', native to the Valdivian temperate rain forests and the adjacent drier steppe-forests of central-southern C ...

'' forests, where they feed mainly on wood-boring

grub GNU GRUB (short for GNU GRand Unified Bootloader, commonly referred to as GRUB) is a boot loader package from the GNU Project. GRUB is the reference implementation of the Free Software Foundation's Multiboot Specification, which provides a use ...

s and adult

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

s (

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

), as well as

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s. Occasionally, other foods may supplement the diet, including

sap Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...

and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

s, as well as small

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s, and the eggs and nestlings of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

Behaviour

Family groups also roost together. In one case, five individuals were observed roosting in a roughly vertical-depth hole. Breeding pairs are highly territorial and commonly try to aggressively displace and even attack conspecifics, sometimes doing so cooperatively with the juveniles that they had raised in prior years. A lethal attack was recorded in 2014. When they are actively rearing nestlings, the juveniles are aggressively kept at a distance by their parents.

Diet and feeding

The species commonly co-occurs with the Chilean flicker (''Colaptes pitius'') and the striped woodpecker (''Veniliornis lignarius''), but does not directly compete with them due to differing body sizes and habitat and prey preferences.Chazarreta, L., V. Ojeda, and A. Trejo. 2010. ''Division of labour in parental care in the Magellanic Woodpecker Campephilus magellanicus. J. Ornithol''. DOI: 10.1007/s10336-010-0570-4. These woodpeckers commonly feed in pairs or small family groups and are very active in their food searching; they spend most of the daytime looking for prey. They generally use live trees, but also feed on dead substrates such as fallen or broken trees lying on the ground, although generally spend little time doing so. Once the snow disappears from the ground in spring, Magellanic woodpeckers look for prey on humid lower tree trunks. In

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

, Magellanic woodpeckers forage on decaying and dead trees around ponds hosting the introduced

American beaver The North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') is one of two extant beaver species, along with the Eurasian beaver (''Castor fiber''). It is native to North America and has been introduced in South America (Patagonia) and Europe (primarily Fi ...

(''Castor canadensis'').

Breeding

The Magellanic woodpecker breeds in the Southern Hemisphere's

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

time, from October to January. Both sexes cooperate in excavating the nest in a tree trunk. The nesting holes are located at differing heights depending on the tree species and local habitat characteristics. The nest cavity typically is from above the ground. Females lay from one to four eggs, with a great majority of nests containing two eggs. The monogamous-breeding parents share all duties in nest excavation, incubation, territorial- and predator-defense, and young rearing. Adults normally breed every second year, a feature not documented in any other woodpecker species. Incubation lasts for 15 to 17 days, with the male reportedly doing almost all nocturnal incubation. The younger of the two nestlings, not uncommonly, dies from starvation. The young fledge at 45 to 50 days. After 2-3 years of being raised by and then assisting their parents, the young Magellanic woodpeckers become sexually mature. Successful breeding and pair bonds, however, do not usually occur until 4 to 5 years of age.

Ecology

Several potential predators are known, being almost exclusively avian raptors. These include white-throated hawks (''Buteo albigula''),

variable hawk The variable hawk (''Geranoaetus polyosoma'') is a polymorphic species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is widespread and often common in open habitats in western and southern South America, including the Falkland Islands. Its taxo ...

s (''B. polyosoma''),

bicolored hawk The bicolored hawk (''Astur bicolor'') is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in forest, woodland, second growth, plantations, and wooded savanna in southeastern Mexico, Central America, and northern and central Sou ...

s (''Accipiter bicolor''), and

crested caracara The crested caracara (''Caracara plancus'') is a bird of prey (raptor) in the falcon Family (biology), family, Falconidae. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Polyborus'' before being given in its own genus, ''Caracara (genus), Caracara''. It i ...

s (''Caracara plancus'') (the latter most likely a predator only of young). When they encounter these potential predators while not nesting, Magellanic woodpeckers usually respond by being quiet and staying still. However, raptorial birds are often aggressively attacked during the nesting season.

Status

Currently, the species is listed as of least concern, but population reductions have been reported. Forest loss and fragmentation are affecting the temperate forests of southern South America at an increasing rate, so these practices also represent a threat for the Magellanic woodpecker. The distribution of the species has contracted and was fragmented as a consequence of native forest clearance, especially in south-central Chile, where the species now is restricted to protected and relict areas. Changes in structural forest components after timber extraction, forest conversion to exotic plantations, and fragmentation due to forest clearance are the main threats to their populations. The species is protected from hunting in both Chile and Argentina, where it is not or very rarely illegally hunted.Ojeda, V. 2009. ''Management strategies for keystone bird species: The Magellanic woodpecker in Nahuel Huapi National Park, Argentina''. Park Science.

References

* ''Woodpeckers: A guide to the woodpeckers of the world” by Winkler, Christie and Nurney,

External links

Magellanic woodpecker videos
on the Internet Bird Collection
Magellanic woodpecker conservation program
(Spanish) * (for

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 ...

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 ...

) with RangeMap
Aves de Chile: Magellanic woodpecker
- Description and photos {{Taxonbar, from=Q284331

Magellanic woodpecker The Magellanic woodpecker (''Campephilus magellanicus'') is a species of large woodpecker found in southern Chile and southwestern Argentina; it is resident within its range. This species is the southernmost example of the genus ''Campephilus'', ...

Birds of Chile Birds of Patagonia Birds of Tierra del Fuego Birds of the Southern Andes