Bay woodpecker

The bay woodpecker's diet consists of various insects such as ants, termites and wood-boring beetles, and they will also consume berries occasionally. They do most of their foraging 3-4 m below the surface level, on trunks, rotting snags, logs, and on saplings, vines and bamboo.[2] They do not forage near other bay woodpeckers, but they maintain loose contact with their partners.[2]

The bay woodpecker is a mid-size bird with a body length of 26.5-30 cm (10.4-11.8 in).[2] The average adult bay woodpecker has a weight of 126-170 g (4.4-5.9 oz). Male bay woodpeckers can be distinguished by a brown crown on their heads, a short crest and nape with streaking, and a pale brown forehead.[2] Female bay woodpeckers have a shorter bill than the males, as well as a pale head without any red on the neck.[2] Bay woodpeckers are members of the Picidae bird family which also includes piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers.[2]

The bay woodpecker has a long, dry rattle that they use as a contact between mates.[2] Their territorial announcement can be heard over large distances.[2]

Bay woodpeckers typically live in evergreen and mixed deciduous forests.[2] They are found in heavily wooded ravines with dense growth.[2] Bay woodpeckers are found in a variety of altitudes, ranging from as low as 50 m, and as high as 2750 m.[2] Bay woodpeckers are most commonly found in the following South Asian countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.[2]

There are 5 subspecies of bay woodpeckers: B. p. pyrrhotis, B. p. sinensis, B. p. annamensis, B. p. hainanus, B. p. Cameroni.[3] All of which are members of the Picidae family.[3]

The bay woodpecker is not globally threatened, but they are generally uncommon.[4] Their population is currently on the decline due to habitat loss, but is not expected to approach the threshold of Vulnerable under the population trend criterion.[4] According to this criterion, they are classified under the "least concern" category of extinction and endangerment.[4] The global population size is currently unknown, but the population of bay woodpeckers in China, one of their primary habitats, is estimated to be at 10,000-100,000 breeding pairs.[4]

Bay woodpeckers will use displays such as crest-raising and wing-flicking when calling for a mate.[2] Both sexes will dig a nest hole that is low down (1-4 m) in live or dead wood.[2] The parents will share incubation and brood-feeding.[2]