Golden-olive woodpecker

The golden-olive woodpecker (Colaptes rubiginosus) is a resident breeding bird from Mexico south and east to Guyana, northwest Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago. It was formerly placed in the genus Piculus.[4] The scientific name rubiginosus means "full of rust", describing the color of the bird's wings and back.

Golden-olive woodpecker
Male, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Colaptes
Species:
C. rubiginosus
Binomial name
Colaptes rubiginosus
(Swainson, 1820)[2]
Synonyms[2][3]
  • Piculus rubiginosus Swainson, 1820
  • Piculus aeruginosus (Malherbe, 1862)

Description
Female

The golden-olive woodpecker is 22 cm (8.7 in) long and weighs 68 g (2.4 oz). Adults are mainly golden olive above with some barring on the tail. The forecrown is grey and the hindcrown red. The face is yellow-white and the underparts are barred black and yellowish. The bill is black. Adult males have a red moustachial strip which is lacking in the female.

Habitat and ecology

The habitat of this woodpecker is forests, more open woodlands and cultivation. It is most common in the mountains. Two or three white eggs are laid in a nest hole in a tree and incubated by both sexes. The young are fed by regurgitation.

Due to its habitat-mainly montane forests, separated by large rivers-it has evolved into about 20 subspecies. P. r. tobagensis from Tobago is larger and heavier-billed than P. r. trinitatis from Trinidad. Some of the South American subspecies have only very narrow yellow barring on the underparts and the Andean subspecies show a pale eye ring.

Golden-olive woodpeckers mainly eat insects, including ants and beetle larvae, with some fruit and berries. The call of this bird is a loud wheep.

gollark: Yes, but it needs to be a suid program.
gollark: Time to work out how to write C!
gollark: Oh, so it's great and I should immediately do it.
gollark: In what way?
gollark: No, I mean would this be terrible and break things.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2014). "Colaptes rubiginosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2016.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Handbook of the Birds of the World. vol. 7. 2002.
  3. "Piculus aeruginosus". Avibase.
  4. Benz, Brett W.; Robbins, Mark B.; Peterson, A. Townsend (2006). "Evolutionary history of woodpeckers and allies (Aves: Picidae): Placing key taxa on the phylogenetic tree". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 40: 389–399. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.02.021. PMID 16635580.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • ffrench, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton; Eckelberry, Don R. (2003). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-6759-1.
  • Hilty, Steven L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5.
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