Kaempfer's Woodpecker Celeus obrieni Scientific name definitions

The Kaempfer’s Woodpecker is a Brazilian endemic that is listed as Endangered. It was only recently rediscovered, and intensive surveys in past years have shown this woodpecker has a large range from the states of Maranhão and Piauí in the north south to Goiás and eastern Mato Grosso, over a broad area of the Cerrado biome. It appears to be dependent on dense woodlands, often along rivers, and nearly always with large areas of bamboo. Recent evidence suggests that, much like its closest relative, the Rufous-headed Woodpecker (Celeus spectabilis), it is a bamboo specialist, making it relatively unsurprising that it is nearly always local and uncommon. The species is frequently heavily outnumbered by the local form of Blond-crested Woodpecker (Celeus flavescens ochraceus). The Kaempfer’s (or Caatinga) Woodpecker spent a long period in obscurity, despite its relatively distinctive plumage, being originally collected by the German Emil Kaempfer in the 1920s, but not named until the 1970s, and not seen again until the early years of the 21st century. Its specific name honors the person who first drew attention to the specimen’s significance. The evidence of modern observations, and the results of a molecular study, have confirmed the bird’s status as a species.

26·5–38 cm; 85–105 g (1 Santos, M. P. D., and M. F. Vasconcelos (2007). Range extension for Kaempfer’s Woodpecker Celeus obrieni in Brazil, with the first male specimen. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 127(3):249–252. Close , 2 Brito, G. R. R., G. M. Kirwan, C. P. Assis, D. H. Firme, D. M. Figueira, N. Buainain, and M. A. Raposo (2016). A collection of birds from Presidente Kennedy and adjacent areas, Tocantins: a further contribution to knowledge of Amazonian avifauna between the Araguaia and Tocantins Rivers. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 24(2):168–184. Close ). Male has rufous-red head and bushy crest, broad area of brighter red in malar region, variable amount of red on upper ear-coverts  and adjacent base of crest  ; hindneck and upperparts from mantle to rump and uppertail-coverts yellow to creamy buff, mantle with a few black bars, scapulars with heavier black markings, upperwing-coverts with broad dark barring (restricted black centres); flight-feathers chestnut to reddish chestnut, tertials pale dull rufous-tinged yellowish buff with a few dark bars, tail black; throat to breast black, remaining underparts  , including underwing-coverts, plain pale dull yellowish buff, usually a few blackish bars or spots in transitional zone (beneath lower breast); bill relatively short, pale yellow or creamy (perhaps variable); iris black (but also reported as whitish), orbital ring blue-grey; legs greyish. Female has head  entirely rufous-chestnut, lacking red in malar region  and on ear-coverts to crest-side. Juvenile (3 Leite, G. A., D. G. Marcelino, and R. T. Pinheiro (2010). First description of the juvenile plumage of the critically endangered Kaempfer’s Woodpecker (Celeus obrieni) of central Brazil. Ornitología Neotropical 21:453–456. Close , 4 Gorman, G. (2014). Woodpeckers of the World. The Complete Guide. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) differs from adult in having duller predominantly chocolate-brown head with black feathering extending from face down to throat and breast, crest reddish brown, and mantle entirely light buffish with no dark barring.

Until recently, known from only single female specimen and treated as subspecies of C. spectabilis, albeit recognizing that its significant differences in plumage, habitat and geographical location indicated possible species status. This status now confirmed with discovery of birds in CE Brazil (5 Mallet-Rodrigues, F. (2007). Táxons de aves de validade questionável com ocorrência no Brasil. VII: Picidae. Atualidades Ornitológicas 140:8–9. Close ), which differ from taxa under C. spectabilis in having lower breast to vent (and underwing-coverts) clear pale dull yellowish-buff vs extensively mottled and barred black on yellowish-buff (breast-line is sharply defined sooty-black to yellowish-buff, but there are a few spots of black below this, and more concealed in breast feathers) (3); nape, mantle and wing-coverts predominantly pale dull yellowish-buff (slightly paler, less orangey, than below), with broad dark barring on wing-coverts (but still with more pale than dark coloration) and a few marks on scapulars and tertials vs heavily barred black on yellow-buff, the black greatly predominating, with tertials dull chestnut (3); tertials pale dull rufous-tinged yellowish-buff vs dull chestnut as on secondaries (2); back to uppertail-coverts orangey yellowish-buff, but paler and less orangey than in spectabilis (ns[1]); bill appears more deeply and more extensively yellowish distally, although this could be individual variation (ns); smaller (at least 1). Full species status supported also by recent molecular studies (6 Benz, B. W., and M. B. Robbins (2011). Molecular phylogenetics, vocalizations, and species limits in Celeus woodpeckers (Aves: Picidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 61(1):29–44. Close , 7 Azevedo, L. S., A. Aleixo, M. P. D. Santos, I. Sampaio, H. Schneider, M. Vallinoto, and P. S. Rêgo (2013). New molecular evidence supports the species status of Kaempfer’s Woodpecker (Aves, Picidae). Genetics and Molecular Biology 36(2):192–200. Close ), which indicate that obrieni is sister to C. spectabilis. Monotypic.

NE Brazil (S Maranhão, W Piauí, Tocantins, Goiás, SE Mato Grosso) (1 Santos, M. P. D., and M. F. Vasconcelos (2007). Range extension for Kaempfer’s Woodpecker Celeus obrieni in Brazil, with the first male specimen. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 127(3):249–252. Close , 8 Hidasi, J., L. G. A. Mendonça, and D. Blamires (2008). Primeiro registro documentado de Celeus obrieni (Picidae) para o estado de Goiás, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 16(4):373–375. Close , 9 Pinheiro, R. T., and T. Dornas (2008). New records and distribution of Kaempfer’s Woodpecker Celeus obrieni. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 16(2):167–169. Close , 10 Dornas, T., N. C. Valle, and J. Hidasi (2009). Celeus obrieni: dois novos registros históricos para o estado de Goiás. Atualidades Ornitológicas 147:18–19. Close , 11 Pacheco, J. F., and E. Maciel (2009). Um registro recente e documentado de Celeus obrieni (Piciformes: Picidae) para o estado de Goiás. Atualidades Ornitológicas 150:14. Close , 12 Pinheiro, R. T., T. Dornas, G. A. Leite, M. A. Crozariol, D. G. Marcelino, and A. G. Corrêa (2012). Novos registros e distribuição do pica-pau-do-parnaíba Celeus obrieni e status conservação no estado de Goiás, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 20(1):59–64. Close ).

Appears to be confined to cerrado woodland with open gallery forest and babaçu palm (Attalea speciosa) forest; within these environments it exhibits a distinct preference for patches of bamboo vegetation, including especially stands of Guadua paniculata (9 Pinheiro, R. T., and T. Dornas (2008). New records and distribution of Kaempfer’s Woodpecker Celeus obrieni. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 16(2):167–169. Close ).

Diet mostly ants, especially Camponotus depressus and Azteca fasciata (both of which seem to be fond of bamboo). All recent records of this woodpecker relate to sightings of single individuals  , pairs  or family groups. Drills holes in dry bamboo stems and extracts ants from their nests inside.

Loud, upslurred squeal followed by a softer bubbling chuckle , e.g. “skweeah kah-kah-kah-kah-kah” or “kreear klu-klu-klu-klu-klu”,#R . Drums  usually on bamboo stems; rolls fast and evenly paced, each lasting 2–3 seconds, rolls separated by intervals of 16–20 seconds.

Little information. Observations of fledged juveniles suggest that reproductive period apparently begins in Jun/Jul, at start of dry season, in C Brazil (3 Leite, G. A., D. G. Marcelino, and R. T. Pinheiro (2010). First description of the juvenile plumage of the critically endangered Kaempfer’s Woodpecker (Celeus obrieni) of central Brazil. Ornitología Neotropical 21:453–456. Close ).

VULNERABLE. Following collection of type specimen, in 1926, there were no further sightings for 80 years; rediscovered in Oct 1996, and has now been recorded at several sites across a large range totalling some 806,000 km² in C Brazil. Uncommon to rare, and very localized. Estimated global population in range 250–2499 mature individuals. Refound during surveys near Goatins, in Tocantins state (13 Prado, A. D. (2006). Celeus obrieni: 80 anos depois. Atualidades Ornitológicas 134:4–5. Close ), c. 350 km from type locality in state of Piauí; repeat visits to the Tocantins site revealed eight individuals, with an additional four at a second site, and an earlier (2004) record from right bank of R Tocantins (São Pedro da Água Branca municipality), in extreme W Maranhão, has come to light (1 Santos, M. P. D., and M. F. Vasconcelos (2007). Range extension for Kaempfer’s Woodpecker Celeus obrieni in Brazil, with the first male specimen. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 127(3):249–252. Close ) ). By 2007, at least 23 different individuals had been observed, ranging from São Pedro da Água Branca (Maranhão) in N to municipality of Dianópolis (Tocantins) in S, and from Serra da Raposa (Maranhão) in E to municipalities of Miracema do Tocantins, Pium and Miranorte (Tocantins) in W (9 Pinheiro, R. T., and T. Dornas (2008). New records and distribution of Kaempfer’s Woodpecker Celeus obrieni. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 16(2):167–169. Close ). In 2009, this woodpecker was recorded at two further sites 200 km to N in Maranhão (14 Santos, M. P. D., P. V. Cerqueira, and L. M. dos Santos Soares (2010). Avifauna em seis localidades no Centro Sul do Estado do Maranhão, Brasil. Ornithologia (CEMAVE) 4(1): 49-65. In Portuguese with English summary. Close ), and at Rio Barreiro (General Carneiro), Mato Grosso (15 Dornas T., G. A. Leite, R. T. Pinheiro, and M. A. Crozariol (2011). Primeiro registro do criticamente ameaçado pica-pau-do-parnaíba Celeus obrieni no Estado do Mato Grosso (Brasil) e comentários sobre distribuição geográfica e conservação. Cotinga 33:91–93. Close ). In Jul 2010, it was recorded on E bank of R Araguaia near Registro do Araguaia, in Goiás, and was reported also from L Confusão, in Tocantins. Three individuals have been identified in collections from Goiás, two dating from 1967 and one from 1988 (8 Hidasi, J., L. G. A. Mendonça, and D. Blamires (2008). Primeiro registro documentado de Celeus obrieni (Picidae) para o estado de Goiás, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 16(4):373–375. Close , 10 Dornas, T., N. C. Valle, and J. Hidasi (2009). Celeus obrieni: dois novos registros históricos para o estado de Goiás. Atualidades Ornitológicas 147:18–19. Close ); subsequently, a pair was found in gallery forest on left bank of R do Ouro in Porangatu municipality, in NW Goiás, in 2009 (11 Pacheco, J. F., and E. Maciel (2009). Um registro recente e documentado de Celeus obrieni (Piciformes: Picidae) para o estado de Goiás. Atualidades Ornitológicas 150:14. Close ). Despite several dedicated searches, the species has not been located at or near the type locality in Piauí. This species is suspected to be in decline owing to continuing loss and degradation of its habitat caused by fires, agricultural conversion (for soya crops) and infrastructure development, while a proposed major expansion in eucalypt (Eucalyptus) cultivation in Tocantins could destroy more than 1,000,000 ha of cerrado. Further road-building will lead to extra pressure on the habitat, and the burning of cerrado habitat for cattle-ranching and other commercial activities adds to the already huge problems facing the wildlife in this part of C Brazil. The extent to which the likely construction of dams for hydroelecticity will adversely affect this species is unknown, but is thought to be possibly considerable. Research is required in order to determine the home-range size needed by this woodpecker and to estimate its total population, bearing in mind both its range and the availability therein of suitable habitats. In particular, surveys are needed of existing protected areas within its range (Jalapão National Park, Jalapão State Park, Lageado State Park and Indigenous Reserve Craos) with the aim of confirming its presence in these.