Saturday, March 21, 2015

Illustration of male Powerful and Crimson-bellied Woodpeckers by George F. Sandström


Continuing with the 6th and final entry in this series, here is a splendid illustration by George F. Sandström which appears on Plate 79 of Woodpeckers of the World by Lester L. Short, published by the Delaware Museum of Natural History (1982). The bird at the upper left of the illustration is a male Powerful Woodpecker, and a male Crimson-bellied Woodpecker appears to the right. 

These two bird species of humid, wet forests are sympatric, occurring together in Columbia, Ecuador and Peru. The Crimson-bellied Woodpecker's range also extends into parts of Panama. The dark bill on these two species is a notable field mark, in contrast to the pale or ivory colored bills that appear in several other species within the same genus.

This illustration is posted here pursuant to permission obtained from the publisher.