Rufous Woodpecker

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Rufous Woodpecker

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Picidae
Genus:	Micropternus
Species:	M. brachyurus

Binomial name

Micropternus brachyurus
(Vieillot, 1818)

In Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

The Rufous Woodpecker Micropternus brachyurus is a brown woodpecker found in South Asia. It is medium sized with black vermiculations on its rufous body and a dark eye stripe. The species has a weak and slightly curved bill. It builds its nests within the nests of ants of the species Crematogaster.

This species was usually placed in the South American genus Celeus, but it differed from these species in many aspects. DNA sequence analyses have confirmed that the Rufous Woodpecker should be placed in the monotypic genus Micropternus. Its closest relatives seem to be the enigmatic woodpeckers of the genus Meiglyptes and possibly Hemicircus (Benz et al., 2006)

[edit] Description

A medium-sized, rufous-coloured woodpecker with a short crest and short black bill. The upperparts are finely barred black. Male has small red patches by eyes.

[edit] References

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
BirdLife International (2004). Celeus brachyurus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern