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169. :- Mulleripicus hodgsoni, Jerd. :- Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 284; Butler, Deccan; Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 386.

The Great Black Woodpecker.
 

Length, 17 to 19 ; expanse, 24 to 26 ; wing, 8 to 9; tail, 7.5 ; bill at front, 2 to 2.3.

Bill black; irides crimson; legs dark plumbeous.

Head, with short thick crest, and stripe running from the base of the lower mandible, crimson ; lower part of back, rump and middle of belly, white; the rest of the plumage deep black.

The Great Black Woodpecker has been obtained at Kanara and also in the forests west of Belgaum ; there is no other record of its occurrence within the district.

The White-rumped Black Woodpecker.

Whole head with crest and patch on each side of lower mandible scarlet; lower back, rump, abdomen, and much of the under wing coverts, as also the tips of the earlier primaries, and basal portion of all the quills white ; rest of the plumage black, except the white speckling on the throat, foreneck and sides of the neck. The female differs in the same way as the preceding species, Bill bluish black; irides yellow ; legs plumbeous.

Length. - 16 inches; tail 6.6; wing 8.5 ; tarsus 1.3; bill from gape 2.

Hab. - British Burma; Pegu, Arracan and Tenasserim, inhabiting secondary jungle on the outskirts of forests.

Salvad., Ucc. Born. p. 52; Hume, Str. F. iii. p. 67; Wald., Trans. Zool. Soc. ix. p. 146; BL, B. Burm. p. 75; Hume and Dav., Str. F. vi. p. 135 ; Hume, Str. F. viii. p. 57; Oates, B. Br. Burm. ii. p. 27. Picus Javensis, Horsf., Trans. Linn. Soc, xiii. p. 175. Picus leucogaster, Reinw. et Temm., Wagler Syst. Av. Pic. sp. 7 ; Temm, pl. Col. 501 ; Sundcv., Av. Consp. Pic, p. 9.

Whole head with occipital crest and patch on each side of under mandible scarlet; under surface of the body yellowish-white ; rest of plumage black, except some white specklings on the throat and foreneck, and narrow margins to the feathers of the flanks and thighs. The female has only the posterior half of the crown scarlet, and has not the patches at base of lower mandible. Bill black ; legs pale plumbeous ; irides creamy or clear yellow.

Length. - 17 inches ; tail 7.5 ; wing 9 ; tarsus 1.3 ; bill from gape 2.4.

Hab. - Tenasserim and the Malay Peninsula, also the islands of Sumatra, Java and Borneo.

The Burmese Great Black Woodpecker.

Mulleripicus feddeni, Blanford, Blyth, J. A. S. B. xxxii, p. 75 (1863). Thriponax jerdoni, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. iv (2), p. 105 (1863). Hemilophus feddeni, Blanf. Ibis, 1870, p. 464. Thriponax feddeni, Walden, Ibis, 1871, p. 164; Bingham, S. F. viii, p. 194; ix, p. 162; Hume, S. F. viii, p. 409; Oates, B. B. ii, p. 28; Hargitt, Ibis, 1885, p. 152; id. Cat. B. M. xviii, p. 504; Salvadori, Ann. Mus. Civ. Gen. (2) iv, p. 578. Thriponax crawfurdi, apud Hume, S. F. iii, p. 66; Blyth St Wald. Birds Burm. p. 75; Hume Dav. S. F. vi, p. 134; Hume, Cat. no. 169 ter, nec Picus crawfurdii, Gray *.

Coloration very similar to that of T. hodgsoni, but distinguished by the much larger extent of the white or creamy-white area on the lower parts, where the white extends from the middle breast to the vent inclusive, on the rump where it sometimes extends to the tail-coverts, and especially inside the wings, the basal half or nearly half of the inner webs of all quills being white; some of the outer primaries generally white-tipped ; some white mixed with the black on the sides of the head, and on the chin and throat. Sexual distinctions as in T. hodgsoni.

Bill slaty; irides yellow ; legs and feet plumbeous; claws horny (Bingham).

Length about 16 ; tail 6 ; wing 8.5 ; tarsus 1.4 ; bill from gape 2.2 : the female as large as the male.

Distribution. Throughout the greater part of Burma from Bhamo in the north to the hills east of Moulmein (Kokarit). This bird has also been sent from Siam and Cochin China.

Habits, &c. A forest-bird found also in clearings, and generally observed in pairs on saplings and small trees. According to Captain Feilden and Mr. Davison the flight is peculiar and noiseless—the blows given by the bill when tapping are loud but slow, not quickly repeated like those of Brachypternus, Chrysocolaptes, and Hemilophus. The call is not loud but is characteristic, somewhat resembling a Jackdaw's. The nidification has not been observed.

* Picus crawfurdii was described in 1829 by Dr. J. E. Gray (Griffith's Cuv. An. King., Birds, ii. p. 513, fig.) from a coloured drawing made by a native artist for Mr. Crawfurd, by whom the drawing was brought to England. No specimen of the bird has ever been examined by a naturalist, and as in many similar cases, where names have been given to figures, it has proved impossible to recognize the species. The following description was taken by Dr. Gray from the drawing:—

The Malabar Great Black Woodpecker.

Hemilophus hodgsonii, Jerdon, Madr. Jour, xi, p. 215, pl. ii (1840); Blyth, Cat. p. 55. Picus hodgsonii, Jerdon, Ill. Ind. Orn. pl. v. Mulleripicus hodgsoni, Jerdon, B. I. i, p. 284. Thriponax hodgsoni, Hume, S. F. iii, p. 67; id. Cat. no. 169; Hume & Bourdillon, S. F. iv, p. 390; Butler, S. F. ix, p. 386; Davison, S. F. x, p. 355; McGregor, ibid. p. 437; Hargitt, Ibis, 1885, p. 150 ; id. Cat. B. M. xviii, p. 503; Barnes, Birds Bom. p. 116; Davidson, Jour. Bomb. N. H. Soc. vi, p. 335.

The Great Black Woodpecker, Jerdon.
 

Coloration. Male. Forehead, crown, nape, and large malar patch on each side crimson; lower back and rump, lower breast and upper part of abdomen, flanks, axillaries, and basal portion (1-1-15 inches long) of inner webs of secondaries buffy white; remainder of plumage black.

Female. The crimson is confined to the occiput and nape, all the remainder of the head black.

Bill black ; irides crimson ; legs dark plumbeous (Jerdon).

Length of males about 19, of females 17.5; tail 7; wing 8.5; tarsus 1.5; bill from gape 2.6.

Distribution. Forests near the Malabar coast up to an elevation of about 3000 feet or rather higher, from Travancore to west of Belgaum (16° N. lat.). Not recorded farther north.

Habits, &c. Ashy bird, not noisy, usually found in pairs, sometimes in parties of three to six. It keeps generally to evergreen forest and has a loud, not unpleasant, call-note. The eggs are not known with certainty, and Davidson thinks it lays one only, as he never saw more than three birds together.

The Malay Black Woodpecker.

Picus javensis, Horsfield, Trans. Linn. Soc. xiii, p. 176 (1821). Picus leucogaster, Valenc. Diet. Sc. Nat. xl, p. 178 (1826). Hemilophus javensis, Blyth, Cat. p. 55. Mulleripicus javensis, Horsf. & M. Cat. ii, p. 652. Thriponax javensis, Blyth, Birds Burm. p. 75 ; Hume, S. F. iii, p. 319; id. Cat. no. 169 quat.; Hume & Dav. S. F. vi, p. 135; Oates, B. B. ii, p. 27 ; Hargitt, Ibis, 1885, p. 145; id. Cat. B. M. xviii, p. 498.

Coloration. Male. Forehead, crown, nape, and a large malar patch crimson; lower breast, abdomen, flanks, axillaries, and the inner webs near the base of some of the quills, chiefly secondaries, creamy white; all the rest of the plumage black, small white streaks intermixed on sides of neck behind ear-coverts, and on chin and throat; sometimes a white tip to each of the outer primaries.

In the female the crimson is confined to the occiput and nape.

Bill black, lower mandible plumbeous; iris creamy white or yellow; orbital skin dark plumbeous ; legs and feet pale plumbeous (Davison).

Length about 17 ; tail 7 ; wing 9 ; tarsus 1.4 ; bill from gape 2.4.

Distribution. The Malay Peninsula, ranging into the extreme south of Tenasserim, also Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and several of the Philippine Islands.

Habits, &c. Similar to those of T. feddeni.

The Burmese Great Black Woodpecker.

Mulleripicus feddeni Blyth, J. A. S. B., xxxii, p. 75 (1863) (Pegu). Thriponax feddeni. Blanf. & Oates, iii, p. 73.

Vernacular names. None recorded.

Description. - Male. Differs principally in having a broad white band across the rump. The crown and nape are scarlet crimson instead of deep crimson, with the bases of the feathers white instead of black ; the white on the abdomen and breast more extensive, whilst the white patch at the base of the wing-quills covers from half to two-thirds the under exposed parts of the wings; the primaries are also tipped with white.

Colours of soft parts as in T. j. javanensis.

Measurements. Wing 207 to 224 mm.; tail 136 to 151 mm.; tarsus about 33 to 34 mm.; culmen 44 to 50 mm.

Female differs in the same respects as do females of the other races.

Distribution. Burma from the Chin and Kachin Hills and Northern Shan States to North Tenasserim.

Nidification. Cook took the eggs of this fine Woodpecker in Maymyio from a hole excavated in a thorny Letphan tree standing in a deserted clearing. The entrance was about 14 feet from the ground and the tunnel large enough for a small boy to put his arm in and reach the eggs, which measured 33.3 x 24.4 and 33.0 x 28.8 mm. A second clutch, taken by Grant at Thamandu, contained three eggs measuring 35.0 x 22.8, 34.3 x 23.0 and 32.1 x 23.2 mm. These also were placed in a hole excavated in a tree standing in a clearing in forest. The two clutches were taken on the 6th February and the 23rd May.

Habits. The Burmese Black Woodpecker is found both in well-wooded open country and in dense forest. Its habits are much the same as those of Mulleripicus but it is less constantly seen in flocks and its cries are not so loud or discordant. The sound of its tapping is not reverberatory, as with the Slaty Woodpecker, but consists of loud single blows, slowly repeated. The flight also is noiseless.

The Malabar Great Black Woodpecker.

Hemilophus hodgsonii Jerdon, Madr. Journ. Lit. Sci.. xi, p. 215 (1840) (Telicherry, Malabar coast). Thriponax hodgsoni. Blanf. & Oates, iii, p. 72.

Vernacular names. None recorded.

Description. - Male. Differs from T. j. javanensis only in having a broad white rump. The head, abdomen and wings are as in the typical form but there seems to be even less white on the quills.

Colours of soft parts. Iris crimson ; bill black or nearly so, sometimes tinged with plumbeous ; legs and feet deep plumbeous or greenish-black.

Measurements. Wing 206 to 220 mm.; tail 147 to 168 mm.; tarsus about 33 to 34 mm.; culmen 52 to 59 mm.

Female differs from the male as in the other races.

Distribution, Travancore to Belgaum, on the Western coast of South India.

Nidification. Breeds commonly in many parts of the Western parts of Southern India and Mr. A. P. Kinloch succeeded in obtaining both young and eggs. He records the nest-holes as being made in tall dead trees at heights varying from 30 to 50 feet from the ground. The entrance hole from its size, about six inches in diameter, is very conspicuous and in addition the birds when excavating strew the ground round the tree with fragments of dead wood. "The birds," he remarks, "are extremely shy and impatient of observation. If they think that an undue interest is being taken in their movements, they will promptly desert their nesting-site, their eggs and even their young." He twice found two young in a nest and once two eggs, but Davison, in Kanara, never found more than one young with the parent birds. Kin loch's two eggs measure about 35.6 x 26.0 mm. The breeding months seem to be December to February.

Habits. Kinloch, writing from the Nelliampathy Hills, says : - " These grand Woodpeckers are quite common here. They move about, as a rule, only in the early morning and late evening. They appear always in pairs and call to one another in a curious plaintive metallic clang, which is remotely reminiscent of a Seagull's note. They possess a laugh, only uttered in flight."

The Malay Black Woodpecker.

Picus Javanensis Ljung, K. Vet. Ac. Nya Handl., xviii, p. 137 (1797) (Java). Thriponax javensis. Blanf. & Oates, iii, p. 74.

Vernacular names. None recoiled.

Description. - Male. Forehead, crown, nape and the whole of the lower portions of the cheeks crimson; lower breast, abdomen, flanks and axillaries white or creamy-white ; the chin, throat and fore-neck flecked with white; thighs and posterior flanks white with black centres to the feathers; remaining plumage glossy black.

In every specimen there is a considerable amount of white on the inner webs of the inner primaries and outer secondaries but the extent varies considerably.

Colours of soft parts. Iris creamy-white to bright yellow; bill dark plumbeous, almost black on the culmen, paler slaty at the base of the commissure and on the gonys ; legs and feet dark plumbeous, sometimes with a greenish, sometimes with a bluish tinge.

Measurements. Wing 198 to 230 mm.; tail 120 to 162 mm.; tarsus about 31 to 32 mm.; culmen about 53 to 57 mm.

Female has the forehead and fore-crown black and has no crimson on the cheeks; otherwise as in the male.

Distribution. South Tenasserim and South-West Siam; Malay Peninsula to Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali.

Many individuals show traces of unite on the rump, proving that this bird, feddeni and hodgsonii are but geographical races o the same species.

Nidification. A single egg of this bird was taken by Major J. C. Moulton near Sarawak from a hole bored in a dead tree standing in forest. It measures 36.8 x 26.4 mm. and was taken on the 4th of February.

Habits. Said to be a Woodpecker of forest and heavy scrub-jungle mixed with tree-growth, not venturing much into open or cultivated country.