Photo © by Alok Tewari
Mangar Bani Forest, Faridabad-Gurgaon Road, Haryana, India, June 2018
Alternative names: Indian Pygmy Woodpecker; Brown-capped Woodpecker
- Yungipicus nanus
Picoides nanus; Dendrocopos nanus
Identification
13 cm (5 in)
- Brown and white barring on upperparts
- Streaked white underparts
- Spotted white tail
- Pink-rimmed white irises
- Pale brown crown (edged with red in males)
- Pale brown eyestripe
- White supercilium and cheek
Similar Species
A little smaller than a Red-vented Bulbul and bigger than a Purple-rumped Sunbird.
Distribution
Found in the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Four subspecies are recognized[1]:
- Y. n. nanus in northern India and Nepal
- Y. n. hardwickii in peninsular India (except for Western Ghats)
- Y. n. cinereigula in southern India
- Y. n. gymnopthalmos in Sri Lanka
It was formerly considered conspecific with Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker.
Habitat
Paddy fields, mangroves, coastal scrub, plantations, parks and gardens, open woodland.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists of small invertebrates and their larvae, particularly ants, termites and beetles. They also eat some fruit.
Breeding
The pair both excavate a hole about 15-30cm long in a dead tree.
Gallery
Click on photo for larger image
Subspecies D. n. gymnopthalmus
Photo © by Dhilip De Alwis
Sri Lanka, July 2014
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Birdforum Member observations
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2019)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brown-capped_Pygmy_Woodpecker
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
