The white-bellied woodpecker or great black woodpecker (''Dryocopus javensis'') is found in evergreen forests of tropical

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, including the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. It has 14 subspecies, part of a complex including the Andaman woodpecker ('' Dryocopus hodgei'') (earlier treated as a subspecies). Many of its island forms are endangered, and some are extinct. Populations differ in the distribution and extent of white. They are among the largest of the Asiatic woodpeckers and nest in large dead trees, often beside rivers. Their drums and calls are louder than those of the smaller woodpeckers.

Description

This species is one of the largest living species of woodpecker. Adults range in size from and are behind only to the

great slaty woodpecker The great slaty woodpecker (''Mulleripicus pulverulentus'') is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. A unique and basically unmistakable bird, it is the largest species of woodpeck ...

and black woodpecker in size among

n woodpecker species. The species is considered closely related to the more northern

black woodpecker The black woodpecker (''Dryocopus martius'') is a large woodpecker that lives in mature forests across the northern Palearctic. It is the sole representative of its genus in that region. Its range is expanding. The black woodpecker is easily the ...

and the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

pileated woodpecker The pileated woodpecker (''Dryocopus pileatus'') is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the ...

and is similar in size to these species. Body mass can vary from . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...

is , the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is and the tarsus is . The subspecies ''hodgsonii'' has whitish underwing coverts and a white rump. The face lacks white, but juveniles of the nominate race can have white streaks on the throat. Differences from the other Southeast Asian subspecies in the vocalizations and morphology of this species are suggested to be large enough to raise this to full species status. Solitary adults may spend an hour foraging at a suitable tree. The subspecies ''hodgsonii'' of India breeds from January to May, mainly in large dead trees, often using the same tree year after year. The normal clutch is usually of two eggs. They feed mainly on insects such as ants or grubs obtained mainly from under bark, but sometimes take fruit. Although shy, they can nest close to well-used tracks and human disturbed areas. They have a range of calls from a short, sharp ' to more intoned ', ', ' calls. The longer calls are given prior to flying off. They roost within holes.

Subspecies

Fourteen subspecies have been described: * ''D. j. javensis'' (Horsfield, 1821) (southern Thailand to Borneo) * ''D. j. philippinensis'' (Steere, 1890) (the Philippines; more often subsumed into the nominate subspecies) * ''D. j. cebuensis'' Kennedy, 1987 (Cebu Island); not seen since the 1950s and likely extinct * ''D. j. confusus'' (Stresemann, 1913) (Luzon; includes ''esthloterus'' (Parkes, 1971)) * ''D. j. feddeni'' (Blyth, 1863) (Thailand, Laos and Burma) * ''D. j. forresti'' Rothschild, 1922 (northern Myanmar and Sichuan, China) * ''D. j. hargitti'' (Sharpe, 1884) (Palawan) * ''D. j. hodgsonii'' (Jerdon, 1840) (mainly the Western Ghats of India, but also known from central India and the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

) * ''D. j. mindorensis'' (Steere, 1890) (Mindoro) * ''D. j. multilunatus'' (McGregor, 1907) (Basilan, Dinagat, Mindanao) * ''D. j. parvus'' (Richmond, 1902) (Simeulue Island) * ''D. j. pectoralis'' (Tweeddale, 1878) (Samar, Bohol and other islands) * ''D. j. richardsi'' (Tristram, 1879) (

Tristram's woodpecker Tristram's woodpecker (''Dryocopus javensis richardsi'') (, Japanese: ) is a Korean subspecies of the white-bellied woodpecker. It was firstly identified and described by English scholar and ornithologist Henry Baker Tristram in 1879. Descripti ...

; found only in North Korea, extinct in South Korea and Tsushima, Japan) * ''D. j. suluensis'' (W. Blasius, 1890) (Sulu) The Andaman woodpecker (''Dryocopus hodgei'') was treated as a subspecies in the past. The species has in the past been placed in the genus ''Thriponax'' and ''Macropicus''.

Behaviour and ecology

This large black woodpecker is usually seen singly or as a pair, which may sometimes be accompanied by a third bird. They have a dipping in which the loud single note, a laugh-like ' call, is produced. They also produce loud drumming, especially in the breeding season. The breeding season is mainly January to March. The nest is built in a large dead tree, often in open forest. Two white eggs are the usual clutch. In Bastar in central India, the squabs are sought after by tribals, resulting in the rarity of these birds there.

References

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white-bellied woodpecker The white-bellied woodpecker or great black woodpecker (''Dryocopus javensis'') is found in evergreen forests of tropical Asia, including the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has 14 subspecies, part of a complex including the Andaman w ...

Birds of India Birds of Southeast Asia

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