The rufous-headed woodpecker (''Celeus spectabilis'') 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

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The rufous-headed 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. s. spectabilis'' ( Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1880) and ''C. s. exsul'' (

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

& Meyer de Schauensee, 1941). What is now

Kaempfer's woodpecker Kaempfer's woodpecker (''Celeus obrieni''), also known as the Piauí woodpecker and previously as the caatinga woodpecker, is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Taxonomy and syste ...

(''C. obrieni'') was included as a third subspecies until the early 2000s.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 Rufous-headed woodpecker-Celeus spectabilis

Rufous-headed woodpecker-Celeus spectabilis

Description

The rufous-headed woodpecker is about long. Subspecies ''C. s. exsul'' weighs about ; weight data are lacking for the nominate. The sexes differ only on their heads: Adult males of both subspecies have a deep red malar patch and a larger one on their bushy crest; females do not have the red malar and have at most a trace of red on the crest. Both sexes of both subspecies have a rufous-chestnut head. They have a cream-buff patch low on the neck that extends down the side of the breast and a black lower throat and breast. Their hindneck and upper back are creamy buff to pale cinnamon-yellow with very wide black bars. Their lower back, rump, and uppertail

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 yellow-buff to cinnamon-buff, sometimes with a few black streaks. Their wing coverts are black with cream-buff edges and narrow bars. Their

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

are brownish black with rufous bases, and their secondaries and

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 ...

rufous-chestnut with black tips. Their tail is black, sometimes with pale barring on the outermost pair of feathers. On the nominate, the sides of the breast and the rest of their underparts are cream-buff to pale cinnamon-buff with heavy black bars on the former and black chevrons on the latter. Subspecies ''C. s. exsul'' has variable black marking on its underparts, though usually there is less barring on the breast than the nominate, and the belly has chevrons or heart-shaped marks. Both subspecies' bills are pale yellowish or grayish ivory, their iris deep red-brown, and their legs olive green to grayish. Juveniles resemble adults but have a darker bill, more blackish on the front of the head, and more red on the crown.Winkler, H. and D. A. Christie (2020). Rufous-headed Woodpecker (''Celeus spectabilis''), 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.ruhwoo1.01 retrieved February 5, 2023

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of rufous-headed woodpecker is found in eastern Ecuador and northeastern Peru. Subspecies ''C. s. exsul'' is found in southeastern Peru, in Brazil's

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state, and in northern Bolivia's

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and

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 6 ...

departments. The species inhabits humid tropical rainforest, usually along rivers and on their islands. In Peru and Brazil it is often associated with ''

Chusquea ''Chusquea'' is a genus of evergreen bamboos in the grass family. Most of them are native to mountain habitats in Latin America, from Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina. They are sometimes referred to as South American mountain bamboos. Unl ...

'' and ''

Guadua ''Guadua'' is a Neotropical genus of thorny, clumping bamboo in the grass family, ranging from moderate to very large species. Physically, '' Guadua angustifolia'' is noted for being the largest Neotropical bamboo. The genus is similar to ' ...

'' bamboo, while in Ecuador if favors landscapes with ''

Cecropia ''Cecropia'' is a Neotropical genus consisting of 61 recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees. The genus consists of pioneer trees in the more or less humid parts of the Neotropics, with the majority of the speci ...

'' trees, and an understorey of ''

Gynerium ''Gynerium'' is a monotypic genus of Neotropical plants in the grass family, native to Mexico and Colombia, Central America, South America, and the West Indies. It is classified in its own tribe Gynerieae. The sole species in the genus is ''G ...

'' cane with much ''

Heliconia ''Heliconia'', derived from the Greek word (), is a genus of flowering plants in the monotypic family Heliconiaceae. Most of the ca 194 known species are native to the tropical Americas, but a few are indigenous to certain islands of the w ...

''. In elevation it ranges only as high as about .

Behavior

Movement

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

Feeding

The rufous-headed woodpecker is believed to feed mainly on bamboo ants, though its diet probably includes other insects as well. It typically forages singly or in pairs, and at any level of the forest and also on fallen logs. It probes and very forcefully pecks at trunks, branches, and bamboo to reveal its prey.

Breeding

The rufous-headed woodpecker's breeding season in Peru includes at least from June to August but is unknown elsewhere. Only two nests have been described; one was about up in a dead snag and the other about up in a live '' Cavanillesia '' tree. The first was predated before the unrecorded number of eggs hatched. The second held one chick that was being provisioned by a male. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.

Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The rufous-headed woodpecker's song is "a loud squealing 'skweeah' followed by bubbling 'kluh-kluh-kluh-kluh-kluh' series". It also gives "a mewing chuckle, 'wur-hee-hrr-hrr-hrr'", and when agitated "harsh squawks". It drums "rolls being evenly pitched" and loud when the substrate is hollow bamboo.

Status

The IUCN has assessed the rufous-headed woodpecker as being of Least Concern. It has a fairly large range but its population size and trend are not known. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered generally rare though not uncommon in its small Brazilian range. "In view of its apparently strict habitat requirements and its low density and general scarcity, however, it may perhaps merit the conservation status of Near Threatened."