Checkered woodpecker
| Checkered woodpecker | |
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| File:Veniliornis mixtus -Buenos Aires, Argentina -female-8.jpg | |
| Female in Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
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V. mixtus
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| Binomial name | |
| Veniliornis mixtus (Boddaert, 1783)
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Picoides mixtus |
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The checkered woodpecker (Veniliornis mixtus) is a woodpecker (Family Picidae) found in eastern South America.
Contents
Description
The bird is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long. It isis black and white, and the male has a red area on the back of its head.
Status and conservation
It is a widespread species and not considered threatened by the IUCN.[2]
Taxonomy
Subspecies:
- Veniliornis mixtus cancellatus (Wagler, 1829) - southern inland of Brazil, from the Huanchaca range in Bolivia to the Uruguay River
- Veniliornis mixtus malleator (Wetmore, 1922) - Gran Chaco
- Veniliornis mixtus berlepschi (Hellmayr, 1915) - Argentina south of the Gran Chaco to southern Buenos Aires Province
- Veniliornis mixtus mixtus (Boddaert, 1783) - Paraná River to central Buenos Aires Province
Subspecific differences run contrary to Gloger's rule. V. m. malleator and V. m. berlepschi, which inhabit arid habitat, have darker and more prominent underside patterning, whereas the other two subspecies which are birds of mesic or riparian woodland are paler overall.
This species was until recently classified in the genus Picoides. With its sister taxon, the striped woodpecker, it was difficult to place in this genus due to the odd head-pattern and the fine, yet bold body and wing spotting. mtDNA COI and Cyt b sequence analyses[3] have shown that their closest relative is rather the white-spotted woodpecker, Veniliornis spilogaster which unlike its congeners shares the two "Picoides"' pattern, but is abundistic. This species co-occurs with V. m. cancellatus over much of their range. In an apparent case of character displacement, the latter is by far the lightest and least-patterned subspecies.
Footnotes
References
- del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Sargatal, Jordi (eds.) (2002): Handbook of Birds of the World (Volume 7: Jacamars to Woodpecker). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-37-7
- Moore, William S.; Weibel, Amy C. & Agius, Andrea (2006): Mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of the woodpecker genus Veniliornis (Picidae, Picinae) and related genera implies convergent evolution of plumage patterns. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 87(4): 611–624. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00586.x PDF fulltext
External links
- Arthur Grosset's Birds: Checkered Woodpecker - Photos of V. m. cancellatus
