The grey-headed woodpecker (Picus canus), also known as the grey-faced woodpecker, is a Eurasian member of the woodpecker family, Picidae. The bird has a plain grey face, black coloured nape as well as moustachial stripe. It has a dark bill and a uniform greyish-green underparts. The male red forehead and forecrown, whereas the female has a black forecrown. The juvenile is duller with grey underparts, less pronounced moustachial stripe, and a whitish barring on underparts.
🗒 Synonyms
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🗒 Common Names
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📚 Overview
No Data
📚 Nomenclature and Classification
📚 Natural History
Reproduction
It lays from the end of April to early June and clutches are four to ten eggs. The nest-hole is excavated in dead wood or soft living wood, or in fungus-afflicted hard wood and most often in deciduous trees of variety of species.
Migration
The species is non-migratory although some local post-breeding movements occur (Winkler and Christie 2015).
Size
Length: 28–33 cm, weight: 110–206 g
Trophic Strategy
Its diet is chiefly ants (Myrmica, Lasius), termites (Isoptera) and their brood, which often make up more than 90% of stomach contents but it also feeds on other insects and spiders as well as the nest contents of other birds, fruits, berries, seeds, nuts, acorns and nectar
No Data
📚 Habitat and Distribution
General Habitat
Inhabits open mixed forest.
It occupies a wide range of habitats. It uses open country with many copses, in not over-dense forest, floodplain-forest, parks, orchards and gardens. It is associated mostly with deciduous trees, but locally in pine-oak (Pinus-Quercus) woodland, or more open coniferous montane forest with larch (Larix).
Description
Global Distribution
India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal
Distribution In India
North East India
Distribution In Assam
Assam
This species is distributed across the stretches of large parts of the central and Eastern Palaearctic, all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Global Distribution
Native: Albania; Austria; Belarus; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; China; Croatia; Czech Republic; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Italy; Japan; Kazakhstan; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Latvia; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Moldova; Mongolia; Montenegro; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Romania; Russian Federation (Central Asian Russia, Eastern Asian Russia, European Russia); Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan, Province of China; Turkey; Ukraine
No Data
📚 Occurrence
No Data
📚 Demography and Conservation
Trends
Increasing
Conservation Status
IUCN Redlist Status: Least Concern
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1
Threats
The large-scale clearance of old deciduous woodland and conversion to coniferous plantations, resulting in habitat loss and isolation is a major threat.
Changes in forestry practice are shortening the rotation period, resulting in the loss of potential nesting trees and a marked reduction in the time-span available for nesting.
High levels of nutrient input from agriculture are thought to reduce habitat suitability for ants and thus driving declines in the species's main food supply.
Orchards are also being lost through the expansion of villages.
The extent and quality of riverine forests is also decreasing through flood-prevention schemes, canalization and damming (Tucker and Heath 1994).
No Data
📚 Uses and Management
📚 Information Listing
References
- Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2016. Checklist of the birds of India (v1.1). Website: http://www.indianbirds.in/india/ [Date of publication: 03 October, 2016].
- Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2018. Checklist of the birds of India (v2.0). Website: http://www.indianbirds.in/india/ [Date of publication: 31 January, 2018].
- Winkler, H. & Christie, D.A. (2018). Grey-faced Woodpecker (Picus canus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/56316 on 11 May 2018).
- BirdLife International. 2016. Picus canus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22726503A86924320. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22726503A86924320.en. Downloaded on 11 May 2018.
Information Listing > References
- Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2016. Checklist of the birds of India (v1.1). Website: http://www.indianbirds.in/india/ [Date of publication: 03 October, 2016].
- Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2018. Checklist of the birds of India (v2.0). Website: http://www.indianbirds.in/india/ [Date of publication: 31 January, 2018].
- Winkler, H. & Christie, D.A. (2018). Grey-faced Woodpecker (Picus canus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/56316 on 11 May 2018).
- BirdLife International. 2016. Picus canus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22726503A86924320. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22726503A86924320.en. Downloaded on 11 May 2018.
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Journal of Threatened TaxaA checklist of avian fauna at Jeypore Reserve Forest, eastern Assam, India with special reference to globally threatened and endemic species in the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot
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Journal of Threatened TaxaNo Data
🐾 Taxonomy
| Root | Root |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Piciformes |
| Family | Picidae |
| Genus | Picus |
| Species | Picus canus J.F. Gmelin 1788 |
📊 Temporal Distribution
📷 Related Observations
