Red-chinned Woodpecker
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Red-chinned
Woodpecker, Dryocopus rubofaucium
L 40-50 cm, WS 70-75 cm, Family: Picidae
IUCN Conservation Status: Near threatened (NT)
Description:
Large,
mostly black bird with strong chisel-like bill and triangular pointed crest.
Black overall, with white cheek stripe and a bright red crest with a black and white forehead. Males also have a red
patch of throat feathers, throat black in females. In flight, a white patch on underside of wings conspicuous, upper side of wings entirely black. Similar to mainland Pileated Woodpecker. Crow sized; the largest
woodpecker on Novasola. Difficult to confuse with anything else.
Voice:
Generally
quite vocal. Calls typically a series of clear, sharp “wacka wacka” notes,
lasting several seconds. Similar to the calls of flickers, only lower and more
resonant, and similar to Pileated Woodpecker calls. Both sexes drum on trees
throughout the year to establish territories, attract mates, communicate with
mates, and intimidate threats. Drumming often low, resonant, and slow and even
paced.
Range and Habitat:
Range
encompasses most of Novasola, excluding the interior steppe. Forest
specialists, they can be found in any forest ecosystem with much standing
deadwood and fallen logs, including temperate rainforest, conifer, mixed, and
deciduous forests, dry pine and juniper stands, and oak savannah, but they
prefer mature, old-growth stands. They may also be found in man-made habitats with
large, mature trees like yards, gardens, and parks and will on occasion visit
feeders, especially in harsh winters.
Discussion:
Well
adapted to Novasolan forests, the Red-chinned Woodpecker is the largest
woodpecker on the island and perhaps the most recognizable. Despite the name,
only males have red chins, but perhaps their size or red crest best distinguish
them from other woodpeckers or crows, which may be the only birds people might
confuse them with.
Like
other woodpeckers, the Red-chinned forages by clinging to trees, usually large
deadwood like standing dead trees, stumps, or fallen logs, and hammering the
wood to form large excavations. With these holes the woodpecker gains access to
tunnels made by woodboring insects, which it then extracts using its long,
barbed tongue. The holes produced by this behavior are large and often
rectangular in shape, distinct from holes made by any other Novasolan
woodpecker. Many holes are upwards of six inches to a foot tall, and usually
around 4 inches wide. The largest recorded single Red-chinned Woodpecker
foraging hole excavated was almost four feet tall and eight inches deep. The hammering
of these holes creates a loud noise which can sometimes be heard for miles, and
woodpeckers often hammer to purposefully produce that sound, which helps them
communicate with other birds including mates and rivals.
Mated
pairs of Red-chinned Woodpeckers stay together in the same territory, and will
defend that territory, throughout the year. Come nesting season they will
excavate a large cavity in a mature, living tree which they line with
woodchips. They typically have only one brood a year and have average lifespans
of up to 13 years. Despite residing year-round in the same area, they will
excavate a new nest cavity each year. The Red-chinned Woodpecker is thus a
crucial species for forest ecosystems, as many other species use the
woodpecker’s old holes, including bats, squirrels, martens, starlings, swifts, wrens,
ducks, owls, other woodpeckers, and plenty of other opportunistic animals. They
also aid in the decomposition of dead and rotting wood.
Because
of their reliance on mature stands and large trees, logging and clearing of
forests for development have posed serious threats to the Red-chinned
Woodpecker population. As a result, more and more woodpeckers are moving into
less suitable habitat like younger forests and suburbs, with some people
beginning to consider them pests for damaging planted trees or even wood-sided
houses.
One
of the older common names for the woodpecker was the Redwood Bird, used mostly
by 19th Century loggers, for its habit of nesting in Island
Redwoods. Loggers had complex relationships with the bird, as they saw its
excavations as destructive but, at the same time, they used the birds as a
guide to finding mature stands of large trees. The bird is likewise important
to many indigenous groups. The Cishtaklun name for the bird is cayagidaq,
meaning “drummer”. Kuliquit peoples of eastern Novasola call it léelk'w’gandaadagóogu,
meaning “Grandfather Woodpecker”. The Latin name Dryocopus is the
Ancient Greek word for woodpecker, literally meaning “tree-beating” and the
species name rubofaucium come from the Latin for “red-throated”.
One
of the louder and more striking forest birds, the charismatic Red-chinned
Woodpecker is an immediately recognizable species whose popularity has
benefitted from much representation in stories and media. Even by the time
Richard Reichwald arrived on Novasola this bird was well-known, especially
among frontiersmen, prospectors, and loggers, many of whom used the bird’s
presence as a sign of nearby large trees.
“The
[Red-chinned] woodpecker’s impressive bulk might suggest a bird of brave merit
or dominating character, so it comes as a surprise to many to learn of its
timidity. This bird is shy, and rarely lets an outdoorsman approach within thirty
or forty paces without retreating the same distance. It does not however
refrain from revealing itself audibly. Loud, piping notes will give away the
woodpecker’s position should its drumming and tapping fail to do so. The
Red-chinned Woodpecker can be distinguished from its other woodpecker brethren
by those sounds alone, clear and deep and resonant are its calls and deeper
still are its beating, with slow and even tempo.
…
The
Redwood Bird chooses as its home only the grandest of forests to compliment its
own splendor. In the sanctum of Island Redwood groves or Coopers-fir stands,
where men are awed and amazed by the power and might of trees so large it would
take teams of arms to wrap around them, where men are humbled and inspired by
the grand design of those natural cathedrals, the Red-chinned Woodpecker
employs itself as custodian. The echoes of their rampant hollowing of rectangular
holes in deadwood pierce ancient woods sounding of industry. Though not done altruistically, these hollowings nevertheless provide shelter to countless other animals, and, according to many entomologists, with some I am acquainted, even
keep forests healthy by limiting, as they can, the invasion of wood pests.” – Native
Bird of Novasola, 1912
“In
sour spirits this morning. Bitter cold weather from the west, prevented me from
decent sleep. Just before sunrise, and then for hours more, a woodpecker was
tapping at a tree no more than 100 meters from camp. Loud, and echoing, the
noise was constant and unwavering. When finally used to the sound, perhaps
ready to shut it out, the same infernal bird began screaming out, a simian tone
at such volume no further rest was possible. Should I be assigned hunting
duties, I will return not without that God forsaken cretin.” – NRC ichthyologist
Patrick Jackson, expedition journal, September 3, 1904