Rufous Woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus)

Other Names (World)
Rufous Woodpecker, Brown Woodpecker

Family
Picidae (Woodpeckers)

Size
21 - 25 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Vieillot, 1818)

Habitat
Secondary forests and mature open deciduous and evergreen forest, from lowlands to about 1,500 m. Also forest edges and gardens.

Range (Guide)

Bangladesh (B), Bhutan (B), Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia (B), China (mainland) (B), India (B), Indonesia (B), Laos (B), Malaysia (B), Myanmar (B), Nepal (B), Singapore (B), Sri Lanka (B), Thailand (B), Vietnam (B).

India to south-eastern Asia.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
A loud, nasal, 'keeenk-keeenk-keenk', a harsh 'tu-wic, tu-wic t-wic ti-wicca', and shrill rattling notes. Drumming is brief, up to five seconds, starting rapidly but sonn slowing., repeated every 2 - 3 minutes.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (92)...)

Rufous Woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus) [XC417193]
by Panji Gusti Akbar from Wangdue Phodrang, Bhutan (alarm call, call)

Rufous Woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus) [XC882000]
by Ding Li Yong from Johor, Panti Forest Reserve, Bunker Trail, Malaysia (song)

Subspecies
Proposed subspecies badius (Sumatra) and celaenephis (Nias I) inseparable from continental squamigularis.

The following 11 subspecies are recognised:

humei Kloss, 1918 - Northern India (Himachal Pradesh) east to to western Nepal.
jerdonii (Malherbe, 1849) - Western India (southern from southern Gujarat) south to Sri Lanka.
phaioceps (Blyth, 1845) - Central Nepal and eastern India east to south-eastern Tibet, Myanmar and southern China (western and southern Yunnan) and south to southern Thailand.
fokiensis (Swinhoe, 1863) - Southern and south-eastern China and northern Vietnam.
holroydi Swinhoe, 1870 - Hainan.
annamensis Delacour & Jabouille, 1924 - Laos, Cambodia and southern Vietnam.
squamigularis (Sundevall, 1866) - Southern peninsular Thailand south to Sumatra, including offshore islands of Bangka, Belitung and Nias.
brachyurus (Vieillot, 1818) - Java.
badiosus (Bonaparte, 1850) - Borneo and northern Natuna Is.
williamsoni Kloss, 1918 - South-western and central Thailand.
badius (Raffles, 1822) - Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Bangka, Belitung and Nias Is.

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Rufous Woodpecker (Micropternus brachyurus) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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