Occasionally the plaintive note of a white tufted tyrant flycatcher may be heard, concealed neat the summit of the most lofty trees, and more rarely the loud strange cry of a black woodpecker with a fine scarlet crest on its head (this being worn by adult males only) June, 1834 Journal entry – Charles Darwin – observations on the birds of the “gloomy woods” of Tierra del Fuego.
The Magellanic woodpecker is the southernmost distributed woodpecker and inhabits the Andes of Chile, southwestern Argentina, and Tierra del Fuego Island. They thrive in the undisturbed, old-growth beech and beech-Chilean cedar forests. It is the only extant species in its genus, both the large ivory-billed and imperial woodpeckers are considered extinct. Throughout Patagonia they are considered keystone species and habitat modifiers. They will create large holes during feeding and for nesting. The abandoned nest sites are then used by a number of other species for roosting, nesting or hiding, including other birds, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates.
These birds are mostly black with a white wing patch and large gray beak. Males have a bright crimson head and crest. The females have a black head with some red near the base of the bill. Both sexes have this curly-que thing atop their head reminiscent of Our Gang’s Alfalfa (for those unaware youngsters: Little Rascals ).
Magellanic woodpecker can attain a length of up to 18 inches; males weigh up to 13 ounces and females up to 11 ounces. Their bill can be up to 2.4 inches long and devised for excavating. Only the great slaty woodpecker of India and SE Asia is larger than this woodpecker.
These birds often can be found travelling with their mate or in a family group of up to five birds. Magellanic woodpeckers are monogamous and share the responsibilities of rearing their brood. Both sexes excavate nests, incubate the eggs, brood, clean the nests, and feed the young. The clutch size is generally limited to two eggs. Offspring will usually stay with the family group for up to two years and are fed by the parents during this extended adolescence. Once this period is over, the young will become sexually active.
hese birds are quite territorial and will “knock” on trees to establish their boundary claim and warn intruders ….. as the great David Attenborough shows here: Knock-Knock
But interestingly, they are the only woodpecker of its size within their range and thus have little interspecific (between species) competition. The smaller Chilean flicker and striped woodpecker sometimes co-inhabit in limited areas area. They do, however, have some competition with Austral parakeets and a few other birds for insects that are found around flowing tree sap. These woodpeckers feed on grubs, beetles, insect eggs, spiders, fruit, smaller nestling birds and some small vertebrates. Camepephilus – Greek, kampe – caterpillar or grub, philos – loving; and magellanicius – for the explorer Magellan – I assume because they both wandered the same place, though the species was not described until 1827.
When they forage these birds will peck and excavate from decayed and live trees. Listening for them in the forest you can tell when they are feeding as their tapping varies in frequency, duration, and intensity. Communicative pecks are much more deliberate and repetitive. Magellanic woodpeckers also communicate through a variety of vocalizations to attract mates, maintain contact among family members, and to scare off predators. Call
Given its size, these woodpeckers have only a few predators including variable hawks, golden eagles, and crested caracaras.
In the early ‘90s I was hiking with a friend into Camp Bridwell in Park National Los Glaciares in Patagonia for some climbing when I got seriously distracted by a frog that hopped across the trail and into some high grass. I fumbled around for a while looking for the critter while balancing the 75 lb. pack on my back when my entertained climbing partner said calmly – “You might be interested in this slightly larger guy up here”. Huh? – was my reply.
I looked and my partner nodded toward the tree line and there was a female Megallanic woodpecker about 10 ft. up a tree looking down at us. With a sharp sqwak-sqwak the male swooped in and perched on the adjacent tree trunk, looked at us, back at his mate, and to us again. Curiosity satisfied, they both moved over to a downed log about 30 feet away and started excavating it, woodchips flying around. We decided to do the same and sat down and had our lunch while they had theirs. After a half hour everyone was satisfied and we all went on our way.
