Buff-necked Woodpecker

Overview

The buff-necked woodpecker (Meiglyptes tukki) is a small bird in the family Picidae that is classified as Near Threatened. It is found across several Southeast Asian nations and is distinguished from close relatives by the absence of a nuchal crest.

Identification

• Small and dark brown with pale wing barring and a dirty-cream stripe on the neck.
• Features a pointed bill that is curved along the culmen.
• Slightly heavier than its relative Meiglyptes tristis with a significantly longer tail.
• Mean body mass is approximately 53g and mean wing length is 101mm.

Habitat

This species inhabits primary evergreen and semi-evergreen lowland forests as well as peat swamp forests. Its range includes Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand.

Diet

It primarily feeds on ants and termites, foraging by surface gleaning and probing on branches and sapling trunks. Often found in the midstory favouring small perches, it frequently feeds on arboreal ant nests and may join interspecies flocks.

Did you know?

Among some Kenyah populations, this bird is considered an augur animal where seeing it on one's right is thought to be a good omen, while seeing it on the left or cutting across one's path is considered a bad omen indicating one should turn back.