Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by MacNara
Ikoma, Osaka, Japan, 24 April 2010

Alternative name: Pygmy Woodpecker

Yungipicus kizuki

Picoides kizuki, Dendrocopos kizuki

Identification

13–15 cm (5-6 in)
Male

• Greyish-brown forehead and crown
• Rest of head blackish-brown
• Two red spots on nape, usually concealed

Distribution

Asia: found in Russia, China, Korea and Japan.

Taxonomy

Male showing red nape spots
Photo © by MacNara
Nara, Japan, 14 April 2019

Subspecies

Four subspecies are recognized:^[1]

• Y. k. ijimae:

South-eastern Siberia and Sakhalin to northern Korea, northern Japan and Kuril Island

• Y. k. seebohmi:

• Korea (except north-east), Cheju-Do Islands and Honshu

• Y. k. amamii:

• Northern Ryukyu Islands (Amami-O-Shima and Tokuno-Shima)

• Y. k. kizuki:

• North-eastern China, southern Japan, Okinawa, southern Ryukyu and Izu Islands

Ten subspecies recognized by Gill and Donsker^[6]and eleven subspecies recognized by Howard & Moore^[4]

Habitat

Lowland and sub-alpine mixed coniferous forests and sub-tropical evergreen forests.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of arthropods, insects, larvae, caterpillars, aphids and ants etc.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Winkler, H. & Christie, D.A. (2019). Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (Picoides kizuki). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/56213 on 14 April 2019).
4. Christidis et al. 2018. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, version 4.1 (Downloadable checklist). Accessed from https://www.howardandmoore.org.
5. Fuchs, J. & Pons, J.M. (2015) A new classification of the Pied Woodpeckers assemblage (Dendropicini, Picidae) based on a comprehensive multi-locus phylogeny. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 88:28-37.
6. Gill, F & D Donsker (Eds). 2019. IOC World Bird List (v9.1). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.9.1. Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
7. Winkler, H., Christie, D.A. & Nurney, D. (1995). Woodpeckers: An Identification Guide to the Woodpeckers of the World. Houghton Mifflin

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Japanese_Pygmy_Woodpecker

External Links

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