The West Indian woodpecker (''Melanerpes superciliaris'') 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 regions. ...

family Picidae. It is found in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

, the Cayman Islands and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The West Indian woodpecker was originally described as ''Picus superciliaris'' and has also been assigned to genus ''Centurus''. Major taxonomic systems assign these five subspecies to the West Indian woodpecker: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/ Retrieved August 25, 2021HBW and BirdLife International (2022) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 7. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v7_Dec22.zip retrieved December 13, 2022 *''M. s. nyeanus'' ( Ridgway, 1886) *''M. s. blakei'' (Ridgway, 1886) *''M. s. superciliaris'' (

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch aristocrat, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob Temmin ...

, 1827) *''M. s. murceus'' (

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, 1910) *''M. s. caymanensis'' ( Cory, 1886) Populations on two small Cuban islands have been treated as additional subspecies ''M. s. florentinoi'' and ''M. s. sanfelipensis''. The treatment was based on only a few specimens, and those populations are possibly extinct. The population on Grand Bahama Island was also sometimes treated as subspecies ''M. s. bahamensis''; it is apparently extinct. None of these subspecies have gained wide acceptance.Askins, R. A., M. E. Akresh, and W. K. Hayes (2020). West Indian Woodpecker (''Melanerpes superciliaris''), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg and B. K. Keeney, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.weiwoo1.02 retrieved January 20, 2023

Description

The West Indian woodpecker is about long and weighs . Individuals on large islands are larger than those on small islands, and males are generally heavier and slightly larger than females. Males and females have the same plumage except for the pattern on their heads. Adult males of the nominate subspecies ''M. s. superciliaris'' have a red crown, nape, and hindneck and a black supercilium that extends to the red. Adult females have a whitish crown and the black supercilium entends around to separate the crown from the red nape. On adults of both sexes the rest of the head is white to buffish white. Their upperparts are mostly barred black and buffy or yellowish white, with white 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 ...

that have a few black marks. Their flight feathers are black with white bars and tips on the

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 ...

and secondaries. Their tail is mostly black with wide white bars on the innermost and outermost pairs of feathers. Their underparts are grayish with a buffy brown to pale yellow-olive tinge on the breast, whitish flanks and undertail coverts with black bars, and a red to orange red patch on the belly. Their iris is red to reddish brown, their bill is black, and their legs and feet are olive. Juveniles are duller overall than adults, have indistinct barring and often a reddish tinge on the upperparts, and have a larger but less distinct red patch on the belly. Males have a red crown patch and females a red crown with some black feathers. Subspecies ''M. s. nyeanus'' is much smaller than the nominate. It has only a very small black supercilium and a slight green tinge to the underparts. ''M. s. blakei'' is also much smaller than the nominate. It has a darker and grayer face and underparts and a greenish-buff tinge to the upper back's pale bars. ''M. s. murceus'' is second in size to the nominate and has essentially the same plumage. ''M. s. caymanensis'' is smaller than ''murceus'' but somewhat larger than ''nyeanus'' and ''blakei''. Its face has no black and the female's hindcrown is grayish. The pale bars on its back are strongly buffish and the black ones narrower than the nominate's. Its tail has more white.

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of West Indian woodpecker are found thus: *''M. s. nyeanus'', San Salvador and formerly

Grand Bahama Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island i ...

islands in the Bahamas *''M. s. blakei'',

Great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

and Little Abaco islands in the Bahamas *''M. s. superciliaris'', mainland Cuba and many offshore islands and cays *''M. s. murceus'', Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Pines); Cayo Largo and Cayo Real though possibly extinct there *''M. s. caymanensis'',

Grand Cayman Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles (1 ...

island The West Indian woodpecker subspecies on mainland Cuba and Isla de la Juventud inhabit a variety of wooded landscapes, especially those with abundant

royal palm ''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the Cuban royal palm or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm that is native to Mexico, parts of Central America and the Caribbean, and southern Florida. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted ...

s (''Roystonea regia''), at elevations between sea level and . ''M. s. nyeanus'' on San Salvador is almost entirely restricted to

coppice Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...

of dense broadleaf vegetation with dead sabal palms (''Sabal'' sp.). ''M. s. caymanensis'' inhabits most wooded landscapes on Grand Cayman but is most abundant in forest on limestone areas with little soil, where the vegetation is sparse and low. It shuns residential and open areas and mangroves. ''M. s. blakei'' inhabits most types of available woodlands on the Abacos and is common in residential areas.

Behavior

Movement

All subspecies of the West Indian woodpecker are year-round residents of their respective ranges.

Feeding

The West Indian woodpecker's diet includes

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

s (mostly insects and spiders), vertebrates such as frogs and lizards, and seeds and fruit of many families. It forages on the ground and at all levels of the vegetation and takes its food by gleaning, pecking, and probing. Both the diet and foraging technique vary somewhat among the subspecies.

Breeding

The West Indian woodpecker nests between February and August and sometimes produces two broods in a year. The species usually remains paired year-round, and is territorial even outside the nesting season. Both sexes excavate the nest hole, usually in a dead palm or other tree and sometimes in utility poles. The nest is typically between above the ground. The clutch size is five or six eggs. The incubation period averages 12 days; the time to fledging is not known. Both parents incubate the eggs and provision nestlings and fledglings. Most pairs are monogamous but there is one record of a female laying eggs fathered by different males at two nests.

Vocal and non-vocal sounds

The West Indian woodpecker makes a "''kwirr''" or "''churr''", "a loud, rolling call...with a vaguely screaming quality" that is typically given from a perch. It also makes a "''kra-kra-kra''" call, and other vocalizations are suspected but not detailed. The species' drumming is "rapid tapping on a resonant surface such as a dead tree or utility pole to produce a steady roll (8), at a rate of c 17 strokes per second." It also makes a "slow, soft rapping sound" with the bill as part of courtship.

Status

The IUCN has assessed the West Indian woodpecker as being of Least Concern. It has a large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is common on Cuba and Grand Cayman, but "populations on some small islands are vulnerable". The species has generally been resilient following hurricanes, but the increasing number and intensity of the storms due to climate change may prevent rebound. "The most important priority for protecting vulnerable populations of West Indian Woodpeckers is habitat protection."

References

External links

Stamps
(for Cayman Islands and Cuba)
Article
VIREO