Family Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Least Concern
Checkered Woodpecker (Veniliornis mixtus)
Taxonomy
French: Pic varié German: Streifenschwanzspecht Spanish: Pico bataraz chico
Other common names:
Checked Woodpecker
Taxonomy:
Picus mixtus
Boddaert
, 1783,Buenos Aires, Argentina
.
Subspecies and Distribution
V. m. cancellatus
(Wagler, 1829) – extreme E Bolivia (Huanchaca Mts) to E & S Brazil (W Piauí S to S Mato Grosso, W Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul).
V. m. malleator
(Wetmore, 1922) – Chaco region of SE Bolivia, W Paraguay and N Argentina (S to La Rioja and Sante Fe).
V. m. berlepschi
(Hellmayr, 1915) – C & E Argentina from San Luis and Córdoba S to Neuquén, Río Negro and S Buenos Aires.
V. m. mixtus
(Boddaert, 1783) – E Argentina on R Paraná and in Buenos Aires (except S), extreme SE Brazil (SW Rio Grande do Sul) and W Uruguay.
Descriptive notes
14 cm; 29·8–37 g. Male has blackish-brown forehead and crown faintly streaked white or buffish-white, occasionally some crown feathers tipped red, nape red or... read more
Voice
Single “peek”; also trilling “ti-ti-ti-ti-ti...” as long-distance call, and... read more
Habitat
Inhabits various types of rather humid open woodland and riparian growth; also savanna woodland,... read more
Food and feeding
Insects, seeds. Forages singly or in pairs. Most common foraging substrates are twigs and small branches of bushes and trees. Main... read more
Breeding
Sept–Nov. Nest excavated by both sexes, at 3–6 m in tree or palm. Clutch 4 eggs; no information on incubation and fledging... read more
Movements
Insufficiently known. Some post-breeding movement in S; Mato Grosso birds leave in May, and return... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. No data on numbers. Probably quite common, but appears to be very local, for reasons not understood. Present in Serra do Cipó, Chapada dos... read more
Previously placed in Picoides. Molecular analyses, however, indicate that this species belongs in present genus and is part of a clade which contains also V. spilogaster and V. lignarius#R. Genetically close to latter#R#R and may be conspecific, but mixtus differs in its smaller size (effect size for tail 4.15, score 2); higher and harsher long-distance trill call (allow 2); less streaked hindcrown (1); slightly more regular streaking on throat (1); less buffy-tinged underparts (1); and deeper black of plumage (ns[1]); possible overlap of breeding ranges not well documented. Races intergrade, and malleator and berlepschi may be more appropriately lumped into nominate. Four subspecies tentatively recognized.