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Striped Woodpecker
Picoides lignarius

DESCRIPTION:
Striped Woodpecker
Carpintero Bataraz Grande
Picoides lignarius
Length: 185mm. Sexes slightly unlike. Bill grey; iris dark brown; feathers covering base of bill grey; forehead and crown black with a few white streaks; nape red; sides of head white with postocular dark grey stripe covering the auricular region; malar region black; Throat, foreneck, breast, flanks and underparts whitish grey with black streaks. Hind neck, upperparts, wings and rectrices black with white patterns. Legs grey.
The female is similar to the male but lacks red colour on nape, this area being uniformly black as the crown and forehead. Habitat and behaviour: it is readily identified by its size and plumage. In the forested areas where it dwells there are no similar species with which it might be confused. It is found in pairs or small groups. Very tame and trustful, allowing observation at a very short distance. It is exclusively arboreal and forages forests, chiefly those of the genus Nothofagus, occasionally other species, very often in the company of the White-throated Tree-Runner (Pygarrhichas albogularis) and the Thorn-tailed Rayadito (Aphrastura spinicauda). It moves among the trees of the silent subantarctic woods, climbing along the tree trunks and limbs in search of insects and their larvae. Although quite silent, at times it utters a high-pitched, somewhat screeching call. When at close quarters, it can also be located by the sound of its bill tapping on the timber.
The nest is made in holes made in trunks or thick boughs. Up to five glossy white eggs are laid. Range: the Striped Woodpecker is found in the Andean Patagonian forests region from Neuquén to southern Santa Cruz. In the Río Negro area and northeast of Chubut the authors have noticed that the population of this species has decreased significantly compared to 10-15 years ago. This species also occurs in Mendoza and Chile from Coquimbo to the Strait of Magellan.
Illustrated Hanbook of the Birds of Patagonia
Kindness: Kovacs Family
 
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Photographs: Mariano Diez Peña


Birding Patagonia • Birdwatcing in Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina and Chile.
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Photographs on the website: Mariano Diez Peña