Banded- and Crimson-winged Woodpeckers and their calls

1. Banded Woodpecker (= Banded Yellownape) (Picus miniaceus malaccensis)
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Urban park environment
21th November 2011

“Over the years the Banded Woodpecker has become increasingly common. We have one pair resident in our urban neighbourhood and visit our garden at least twice daily to forage.

“These images were taken of a pair foraging in a park in the city that we had the pleasure to watch for 25-30 minutes (left). I initially thought of them as an adult pair but after reviewing behaviour (the female playing a dominant role while foraging), and the look on the male’s face (looks young and iris also a little browner) I also considered a young adult male (balew left) accompanying female adult parent (below right). They ‘shared’ the park with a pair of Common Flamebacks (Dinopium javanense) but chased them away from feeding sites twice while we were watching.

“A video of a male calling taken from my home on 13th November 2011 below.”

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2. Crimson-winged Woodpecker (= Crimson-winged Yellownaped) (Picus puniceus observandus)
Kledang-Sayong Forest Reserve, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
Open trail through mixed secondary and primary jungle
14th July 2012

“I first spotted two of them in the tree where the Greater Racket-tailed Drongos were nesting. I subsequently observed or heard them intermittently as they foraged in the same area I was in for the next 2 hours. I met up with them later at a lower height and managed to get some images of the male (see Post 1 and 2). The plumage on the male was bit odd. See the white patch over the scapular/back (below left) (some leucistic patches or moulting) and the spots on the upper chest (below right) (these usually do not extend so high but lots of variation possible).

“What was really odd is the calls this adult made in relationship to the other adult. The usually calls were heard often but at one period it made the calls attached… 573_AmarSingh_140712_calls-2a_KSFR-Ipoh-Perak-Malaysia_forest. They were calls I would more likely associate with a juvenile. But both adults were foraging independently.

“A video of this adult male foraging for ants is shown below (handheld)”