Brown-capped Woodpecker

From Opus

Male, nominate subspecies, images of same individual showing plumage detail
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Mangar Bani Forest, Faridabad-Gurgaon Road, Haryana, India, June-2018

Dendrocopos nanus

[edit] 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

[edit] Similar Species

A little smaller than a Red-vented Bulbul and bigger than a Purple-rumped Sunbird.

Female, nominate subspecies
Photo © by obasanmi
Kanha, India, March 2005

[edit] Distribution

Found on the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies

Three subspecies recognized^[1]:

• D.n. nanus in northern and central India
• D.n. cinereigula in southern India
• D.n. gymnopthalmos in Sri Lanka

It was formerly considered conspecific with Sunda Woodpecker.
Placed in genus Yungipicus by Gill and Donsker.

[edit] Habitat

Paddy fields, mangroves, coastal scrub, plantations, parks and gardens, open woodland.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

Both sexes excavate a hole about 15-30cm long in a dead tree.

Subspecies D. n. gymnopthalmus
Photo © by Dhilip De Alwis
Sri Lanka, July 2014

[edit] References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Wikipedia
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

[edit] External Links