Stierling's woodpecker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stierling's woodpecker |
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| Illustration of male, female has black crown |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Picidae |
| Genus: | Dendropicos |
| Species: |
D. stierlingi
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| Binomial name | |
| Dendropicos stierlingi Reichenow, 1901
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| Synonyms | |
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The Stierling's woodpecker (Dendropicos stierlingi) is a special type of bird. It belongs to the Picidae family, which includes all woodpeckers. This bird lives in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania in Africa. Its natural habitat is tropical dry forests, especially in the Eastern miombo woodlands. Sadly, its home is becoming smaller because of habitat destruction. The bird is named after a German bird collector, N. Stierling.
What Does It Look Like?
This woodpecker grows to be about 17.5 centimeters (7 inches) long. Male and female Stierling's woodpeckers look a bit different. The male has a red patch on the middle of its head and on its neck. The female has a brown head with light stripes and a black neck.
Both sexes have plain olive-brown feathers on their upper bodies. Their undersides are white or cream with brown marks. Their face, neck, chin, and throat are white. A brown stripe goes from their eye across their ear area. Another brown stripe goes down to their chest. Their wings are brown on top and white underneath. The tail is brown with a light tip.
The woodpecker's beak is grey with a lighter base. Its legs are grey or olive. Its eyes are reddish.
Where Does It Live?
The Stierling's woodpecker is found only in southeastern Africa. Its home includes southern Tanzania, southwestern Malawi, and northern Mozambique. It lives in open miombo woodland areas. It avoids very thick forests. You can find these birds at heights up to 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) above sea level.
What Does It Eat?
Stierling's woodpeckers search for insects, centipedes, and other small creatures. They usually look for food in the middle and upper parts of tree branches. They mostly search on branches that are between 4 and 12 centimeters (1.6 to 4.7 inches) thick. This might help them avoid competing too much with other woodpeckers, like the cardinal woodpecker. Cardinal woodpeckers prefer to find food on smaller branches.
Sometimes, the Stierling's woodpecker will fly into the air to catch flying termites. However, it's not as good at this as some other woodpecker species.
Life Cycle
It is believed that these woodpeckers lay their eggs and raise their young between July and October. They make their nests in holes they dig inside trees.
Is It Safe?
The Stierling's woodpecker lives in a rather small area. It is also found in scattered places and is not a very common bird. The miombo woodland where it lives is being cut down more and more. People use the wood for firewood. This is especially true in areas where tobacco is grown, as open fires are used to dry the tobacco crop.
As their suitable home shrinks, these birds depend on the remaining parts of the woodland. They also rely on special forest reserves. Because of these threats, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed its conservation status as "near-threatened". This means it could become endangered if its habitat continues to disappear.
 | Kyle Baker |
 | Joseph Yoakum |
 | Laura Wheeler Waring |
 | Henry Ossawa Tanner |
