Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker - BirdForum Opus

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

Alternative name: Sometimes called Pygmy Woodpecker, however, other pygmy woodpeckers exist

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

Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:

Y. k. permutatus:

southeastern Siberia (Ussuriland), northern Korea, and adjacent northeastern China (Liaoning)

Y. k. ijimae:

central and southern Sakhalin

Y. k. kurodae:

southern Kuril Islands

Y. k. seebohmi:

northern Japan (Hokkaido)

Y. k. wilderi:

eastern China (northern Hebei, Shandong)

Y. k. nippon:

Korea (except northeast), including Jeju Island (Quelpart), and central Japan (most of Honshu)

Y. k. kotataki:

Tsushima Island and Oki Island (western Japan)

Y. k. shikokuensis:

southern Japan (southwestern Honshu and Shikoku)

Y. k. kizuki:

Kyushu (southern Japan)

Y. k. matsudairai:

Yakushima Island (off of southern Kyushu) and the Izu Islands

Y. k. amamii:

N Ryukyu Islands (Amami-O-Shima and Tokuno-Shima)

Y. k. nigrescens:

Okinawa (south central Ryukyu Islands)

Y. k. orii

Iriomote (southern Ryukyu Islands)

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

Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 14.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.14.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
Avibase
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).
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.
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.
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. (2025) Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Japanese_Pygmy_Woodpecker

External Links

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