Regal Woodpecker
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Regal Woodpecker, Picoides regalis L 20-23 cm, WS 40-42 cm, Family: Picidae
Description:
Small
to medium sized woodpecker with a rounded head and long, straight, chisel like
bill, roughly the same length as the head. Head intricately patterned with
black and white striping, with a yellow crown outlined in white in males, crown black in females. Back lightly barred black and white, wings black with faint striping. Throat and undersides white, with dense black striping on flanks and belly. Tail mostly black, with spotted outer feathers. Lacking fourth
toe on each foot.
Voice:
Most
common call is a clear, sharp pik. Will also give a mechanical-sounding
alarm rattle or growl. Both sexes drum on trees throughout the year to establish
territories, attract mates, communicate with mates, and intimidate threats.
Drumming short and slow paced, usually deep and resonant.
Range and Habitat:
Generally
uncommon, its range encompasses most of Novasola, excluding the interior
steppe. Though they can be found in most forest ecosystems, including temperate
rainforest, conifer, mixed, and deciduous forests, dry pine and juniper stands,
and oak savannah, they prefer areas of frequent disturbance like wind events,
logging, or wildfires. They may also be found in man-made habitats like yards,
gardens, and parks but this is uncommon.
Discussion:
One
of the rarer woodpeckers on Novasola, the Regal Woodpecker can be found in
forests across the island, but is most associated with disturbances and wildfires
and most abundant in post-fire burnt areas. This habitat preference makes them
less commonly seen by humans, most of whom avoid these areas. Somewhat similar
in appearance to the White-crowned Woodpecker, the Regal is best distinguished
by its yellow crown in males from which it earns its name, or by its striped undersides in both sexes. The Regal Woodpecker is closely related to
the American Three-toed Woodpecker and Black-backed Woodpecker of mainland
North America.
The
Regal Woodpecker, like most woodpeckers, forages by clinging to trees and hammering
the wood with their chisel-like bill to form excavations. With these holes the
woodpecker gains access to woodboring insects and other invertebrates, which it
then extracts using its long, barbed tongue. Regals hunt mostly for beetle
larvae inside burnt trees, but more generally they search for trees or logs with
prior damage or holes in the bark. Once a damaged limb or trunk is found, they
will probe the opening or hammer to create a new or expand an existing hole. 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.
Mostly
solitary, Regal Woodpeckers only pair up during the breeding season, often with
new individuals each year. During the nesting season they will excavate a
cavity in deadwood in which to lay eggs. They typically have only one brood a
year and lay 3-5 eggs. Outside the breeding season the woodpeckers again become
solitary. They are quite mobile and will fly to new areas and establish new territories
often. It is believed this behavior allows them to find and take advantage of
newly disturbed or burnt forests. In regions where wildfires or other
disturbances are less common and competition increases, Regal territories can
become quite small with multiple pairs or nests nearby to each other in the
same stands.
After
decades of fire-suppression land management, Regal Woodpecker populations have
decreased dramatically and have been forced to use lower quality habitat like
logging areas, which puts them at risk with humans and machinery and forces
them into areas of high sound pollution. As climate change continues to affect
the island, wildfires are becoming more intense or extreme, often too large and
powerful to benefit the woodpecker, but still the Regal is one of the first
animals to colonize those post-burn forests. Many conservationists have argued
for more frequent controlled burns of Novasolan forests, to give more room for fire-reliant
species like the woodpecker and prevent build-up of fuel in forests to help
curb major fires.
The
least commonly observed woodpecker during the three NRC expeditions, the Regal
was first mentioned by Richard Reichwald in 1902 but not described
scientifically until four years later in 1906. Frustrated by his trouble observing
enough specimens to write anything of merit, Reichwald seemed to have revealed
his feelings in his descriptions of the bird, which were often
uncharacteristically contemptuous. In 1921 Riechwald published an article
titled “An Apology to the Royal” wherein he remarked his negative attitude for
the bird was unwarranted and that he finally came to truly appreciate the
woodpecker. This article received little attention.
“After
only half a day’s paddle up river the terrain has changed significantly. We
have entered a country recovering from a wildfire of seemingly great proportion.
The banks on either side of river, and indeed as far as the horizon in all
directions, are populated with standing deadwood, revealing the region to have
once hosted thick forests of pine and oak. This devastation must be a few years
past, perhaps six to eight summers ago, as there has been enough time for the
understory to grow thick with saplings, briars, and greenery, but insufficient
enough for any canopy.
The
captain has ordered us off the boats so that teams may go ahead and clear the
rivers of debris. Many whole logs blocking our route must be removed before we
can continue. Eager to explore the burn, I ensured I was not given that duty.
Instead, I will spend the hours delay in the company of the woods.
…
I
heard the unmistakable echo of a woodpecker, hard at work on a hollow snag, and
looked above to see such the creature. The woodpecker is of slight build,
smaller than the White-crowned but still larger than the Least.
Steadfast in its pursuit of grub, or else lost in its labor, the bird seemed
unaware of my presence at first, for as I shifted myself for a better view the
rustling startled the bird, which took wing with a sharp peeking call and found
new footing on a new snag some ten or so meters away. With dark wings and heavy
striping it was in many ways unremarkable for a woodpecker.” – Expedition log,
August 15, 1902
“Like
any sovereign, the Regal Woodpecker is a delegator, resolute in its demands that
nature do most of the work for him, choosing only to peck at wood already
exposed and damaged by other processes. Though woodpeckers are by nature assiduous,
the Regal is of generally poor nature, content to exploit opportunities as they
arise and quick as ever to the spoils, first to any banquet.” – Native Birds
of Novasola, 1912
“In
my youth I have been unfair to the bird. Unwilling was I to award the creature
with its fair admiration and awe that such a monarch deserves, and now that its
numbers are threatened by the ever-increasing development of man I fear my apology
may come to late. Despite a shrinking kingdom the Regal Woodpecker carries on
its business as it has for thousands of generations and we should all strive to
be so lucky to share its kingdom for the next thousand.” – Richard Reichwald, “An
Apology to the Royal”, Forest and Stream Magazine, 1921