White-backed Woodpecker
Encyclopedia
The White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) is a Eurasia
n woodpecker
belonging to the genus Dendrocopos.
It is the largest of the spotted woodpeckers in the western Palearctic, 24–26 cm long with wing-span 38–40 cm and has plumage
similar to the Great Spotted Woodpecker
, but with white bars across the wings rather than spots, and a white lower back. The male has a red crown, the female a black one.
The nominate race D. l. leucotos occurs in central and northern Europe
, with the race D. l. lilfordi found in the Balkans
and Turkey
. Ten further races occur in the region eastwards as far as Korea
and Japan
. It is a scarce bird, requiring large, mature woods with plenty of dead wood. Numbers have decreased in Nordic countries
. In Sweden
, its population decline has caused the Swedish government to enact protection for the species in the national Biodiversity Action Plan
.
In the breeding season it excavates a nest hole about 7 cm wide and 30 cm deep in a decaying tree trunk. It lays three to five white eggs
and incubates for 10–11 days. It lives predominantly on wood-boring beetles as well as their larva
e, as well as other insect
s, nuts, seeds and berries. Drumming by males is very loud, calls include a soft kiuk and a longer kweek.
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n woodpecker
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
belonging to the genus Dendrocopos.
It is the largest of the spotted woodpeckers in the western Palearctic, 24–26 cm long with wing-span 38–40 cm and has plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
similar to the Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great Spotted Woodpecker , Dendrocopos major, is a bird species of the woodpecker family . It is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, and usually resident year-round except in the colder parts of its range...
, but with white bars across the wings rather than spots, and a white lower back. The male has a red crown, the female a black one.
The nominate race D. l. leucotos occurs in central and northern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, with the race D. l. lilfordi found in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Ten further races occur in the region eastwards as far as Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It is a scarce bird, requiring large, mature woods with plenty of dead wood. Numbers have decreased in Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
. In Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, its population decline has caused the Swedish government to enact protection for the species in the national Biodiversity Action Plan
Biodiversity Action Plan
A Biodiversity Action Plan is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems. The original impetus for these plans derives from the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity...
.
In the breeding season it excavates a nest hole about 7 cm wide and 30 cm deep in a decaying tree trunk. It lays three to five white eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
and incubates for 10–11 days. It lives predominantly on wood-boring beetles as well as their larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e, as well as other insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, nuts, seeds and berries. Drumming by males is very loud, calls include a soft kiuk and a longer kweek.
Subspecies
There are twelve recognised subspecies.- D. l. leucotos (BechsteinJohann Matthäus BechsteinJohann Matthäus Bechstein was a German naturalist, forester, ornithologist and entomologist. In Great Britain, he was known for his treatise on singing birds .-Biography:Bechstein was born in Waltershausen in the district of Gotha in Thuringia...
, 1802), the nominate subspecies, widespread across Eurasia from north, central and eastern Europe to northeast Asia, Korea and Sakhalin. - D. l. lilfordi (Sharpe & Dresser, 1871) Pyrenees to Asia Minor, Caucasus and Transcaucasia.
- D. l. tangi (Cheng, 1956) Sichuan province, western China.
- D. l. subcirris (Stejneger, 1886) Hokkaido, northern Japan.
- D. l. stejnegeri (Kuroda, 1921) northern Honshū, Japan.
- D. l. namiyei (Stejneger, 1886) south Honshū, Kyushu, Shikoku, Japan, and Cheju-do island, Korea
- D. l. takahashii (Kuroda & Mori, 1920) Ullung Island (off eastern Korea).
- D. l. owstoni (Ogawa, 1905) Amami-O-Shima Island in the northern Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
- D. l. fohkiensis (Buturlin, 1908) mountains of Fujian province, southeast China.
- D. l. insularis (GouldJohn GouldJohn Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
, 1863) Taiwan. - D. l. quelpartensis (Kuroda & Mori, 1918).
- D. l. uralensis (Malherbe, 1860).