Woodpeckers of the World: Conservation: Helmeted Woodpecker Dryocopus galeatus

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Conservation: Helmeted Woodpecker Dryocopus galeatus

FUNDING NEEDED ! Although rare and declining, the Helmeted Woodpecker can still be saved if the old forests that it prefers are conserved and if forest conditions for it are improved in logged forests. To find out the ecological needs of the Helmeted Woodpecker and to implement habitat restoration for it and associated old-forest species, a five year conservation project is now being launched by Martjan Lammertink. It is a joint project by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Research Council of Argentina (CONICET), and the Paraná Pine Project, a local NGO in Misiones province, Argentina. The project needs funds to cover radio tracking equipment and field expenses and to pay field assistants and Argentinean students. Fundraising from foundations for a little known Neotropical woodpecker is hard, and Martjan would very much appreciate donations from readers of this blog for the project. This photo of a female was taken in the Cruce Caballero Provincial Park, Misiones, Argentina by Martjan Lammertink: see PicidPics. For more information, or to donate, please contact Martjan at: jml243@cornell.edu

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Background

Woodpeckers, the Picidae, are Piciformes, an order that includes some of the oldest avian lineages. The Piciformes probably originated about 60 million years ago in the Tertiary period and became distinct from their closest relatives some 50 million years ago. Depending upon which taxonomy is followed, and the fact that the status of some species is unclear, around 240-260 woodpecker species probably exist globally. The Picidae includes three subfamilies: Jynginae (wrynecks), Picumninae (piculets) and the Picinae, the “true woodpeckers”. In terms of size, behaviour, distribution and the habitats they use, the Picinae are a fairly diverse group of birds with six distinct tribes. They are widespread and found from sea-level to high-altitudes but absent from the Arctic, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and some other islands. Worldwide woodpeckers are usually, but not exclusively, associated with trees.