Crimson-naped Woodpecker Dryobates cathpharius ludlowi, male. Crimson-naped Woodpecker is a small pied woodpecker. Male has red nape and reddish coloration on rear and sides of neck. Female has diffuse red patch behind ear coverts. Necklaced WoodpeckerD. pernyii has more complete black band on breast. Darjeeling WoodpeckerDendrocopos darjellensis has larger bill and lacks red patch on breast. Crimson-naped Woodpecker ranges Nepal to Burma. In China nominate in southeast Tibet south of Brahmaputra River and ludlowi north of Brahmaputra to northwest Yunnan. Photo: Dulong Gorge (27.820635, 98.323995), Yunnan, China, elev. 1470 m (4,840 ft.), February. (Craig Brelsford)Crimson-naped Woodpecker often forages in the lower parts of trees. Inhabits heavy, broadleaved and deciduous forests, from 1400–2800 m (4,590–9,190 ft.). Dulong Gorge (27.820635, 98.323995), Yunnan, elev. 1470 m (4,840 ft.), February. (Craig Brelsford)Comparison of nape and hindneck of three western China woodpeckers. All males shown here—Necklaced WoodpeckerDryobates pernyii (L), Crimson-naped Woodpecker D. cathpharius (C), and Darjeeling WoodpeckerDendrocopos darjellensis (R)—have crimson napes. In Necklaced Woodpecker, red coloration is confined to nape, whereas Crimson-naped Woodpecker has reddish coloration on hindneck and neck sides. Darjeeling Woodpecker has black hindneck and yellow neck sides. (Craig Brelsford)
MacKinnon, John. Guide to the Birds of China. Oxford University Press, 2022.
Winkler, H. and D. A. Christie. Family Picidae (Woodpeckers). P. 480 in: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliot, and J. Sargatal, eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 7. Jacamars to Woodpeckers. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, 2002.
