Southern Sooty-Woodpecker Mulleripicus fuliginosus Scientific name definitions

29–30cm. Male  has head and neck smoky grey or slate-grey, finely speckled with white on chin, throat, neck and hindcrown (speckles often difficult to see), broad red submoustachial/malar band  (very occasionally traces of red elsewhere on head); entire upperparts, including wings and tail, rather dark grey, underparts slightly paler grey; rather long and deep bill almost pointed, culmen curved, narrow across nostrils, grey to yellowish, darkest on culmen and at base; iris pale yellow; legs brownish-grey. Female  lacks red malar, has head  entirely grey. Juvenile resembles respective adult, but plumage generally somewhat browner, pale spotting more apparent.

Samar, Leyte and Mindanao (EC & SE Philippines).

Emits thin, soft whistled notes, singly, doubled or in loose series, the effect surprisingly weak compared with shrill whistle of M. funebris. Drumroll solid, rather powerful, usually accelerating, lasting c. 2 seconds.

VULNERABLE. Very poorly known species. Seems to be scarce or rare throughout its range; possibly overlooked, as it is inconspicuous in its forest habitat. Global population not yet quantified, but believed to be in rapid decline as primary forest continues to be cleared. This species, which seems unable to tolerate habitat modification and disturbance, appears to have become very rare or to have disappeared from former PICOP timber concession on Mindanao; well-protected forests of Pasonanca, on Zamboanga Peninsula (W Mindanao), may provide strongholds for it. In recent decades deforestation in Philippines has been very rapid, and the islands are said to have lost c. 40% of their forest cover in the years between 1970 and 1990 (2 Uitamo, E. (1999). Modelling deforestation caused by the expansion of subsistence farming in the Philippines. J. Forest Economics. 5(1): 99–122. Close ). Data from ESSC (Environmental Science for Social Change) suggest that extent of closed-canopy forest in Philippines decreased by c. 44% between 1987 and 2002 (3 Walpole, P. (2010). Figuring the Forest Figures: Understanding Forest Cover Data in the Philippines and where we might be proceeding. Environmental Science for Social Change, Quezon City, Philippines. Close ). Lowland forests on Mindanao are regarded as highly threatened: at Mt Malindang National Park (W Mindanao), old-growth forest declined by 27% between 1992 and 2001. Forest loss in Philippines is caused mainly by timber extraction and agricultural expansion (4 Suarez, R.K. and Sajise, P.E. (2010). Deforestation, swidden agriculture and Philippine biodiversity. Philippine Science Letters. 3(1): 91–99. Close , 5 Lasco, R., Pulhin, F., Bugayong, L. and Mendoza, M. (2011). An assessment of potential benefits to smallholders of REDD+ components in the Philippines. Annals of Tropical Research. 33(1): 31–48. Close ), while mining activities and development lead to further pressures on habitats. There is an urgent need for surveys to assess this woodpecker’s total population size and to locate any strongholds which it may have; much fieldwork is needed also to determine its ecology, biology and breeding requirements. It is important that the amount of effectively protected primary forest in its range be increased, at the same time as long-term habitat restoration with native tree species is undertaken.