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Nesting Laced Woodpecker

on 20th August 2009

Mark G. documented a male Laced Woodpecker (Picus vittatus) feeding his chicks in early July 2009. The nesting cavity was excavated about a metre up the trunk of a living tree in Singapore’s Jurong Chinese Garden.

The male bird was looking around before he flew to the nest. The female was around nearby. There were two hungry chicks that needed to be fed regularly. The chicks fledged a week later. The fledglings, a male and a female, were seen around the area when Mark returned some time later.

Laced Woodpeckers excavate mainly dead tree trunk. This is one of the rare occasions when the nest was excavated from a living tree. A clutch of two eggs is the norm and both adults incubate and brood the chicks as well as look after the fledglings.

Our bird specialist R Subaraj has this to say when asked whether fledglings can be sexually differentiated: I am not too sure about this. Given the advanced development of the youngster (only the pale gape gives it away) begging from the hole, one would think that it is a female. However, I have seen a young male accompanying one or both parents on several occasions… and it had a crown that was part black (toward the back) and part red. So, it is possible that male fledglings slowly develop the red crown, as they mature. This seems to be confirmed by Wells (1999), when he states “Juveniles as adult……cap of male mottled black, to all-black posteriorly.” Having said that, and considering the advanced development of the youngster in the hole, it should show a bit of red in a male.”

All images by Mark G.

Reference:
Wells, D.R., 1999. The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsular. Vol. I, Non-passerines. Academic Press, London. 648 pp.

This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

Other posts by YC Wee

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