Fauna of India (Birds)  vol iii 1895 - by W. T. Blanford

Dendrocopus macii  Fulvous-breasted Pied Woodpecker

Coloration: Bill dusky plumbeous, reddish beneath; irides brown; feet plumbeous (Jerdon). Male. Nasal plumes black towards the tips; narrow forehead brownish buff. Crown and occiput crimson; sides of head and neck, including lores, supercilia, and ear-coverts, brownish white. A black stripe from the lower mandible to each side of the neck not joined to the black of the dorsal region. Hind neck, upper back, and upper tail-coverts uniform black; remainder of upper parts barred black and white. Wings and their coverts black; median and greater coverts and quills with white spots, the latter on both webs. Tail black, the two outer pairs of large feathers barred with buffy white, and sometimes a few white spots on the next pair. Chin, throat, and fore neck uniform light rufous brown; breast and abdomen isabelline, with black longitudinal spots on the breast, faint striae on the abdomen, and bars on the flanks. Vent and lower tail-coverts bright crimson; under wing coverts and axillaries white, the former barred or spotted with black. In female the crown and occiput are black.

Size:  Length 7.5;  tail 3;  wing 4.3;  tarsus 0.8;  bill from gape 1.1

Distribution: Along the base of the Himalayas from near Murree to upper Assam, ascending the outer hills to an elevation of 5000 or 6000 feet in the western Himalayas. This species occurs also throughout lower Bengal; it is common around Calcutta, and was obtained by Mr. Brooks at Mudhupur in the Sonthal Pergunnahs; it also occurs in Tipperah and as far south as Akyab, where it is common, and in Cachar and Manipur. Its occurrence farther south is doubtful; it was said by Lord Walden to have been obtained by Wardlaw Ramsay in Karennee, but there are no specimens in his collections now in the British Museum; and it was formerly reported from Tenasserim, the Malay peninsula, and Ceylon, but the reports are discredited by later writers.

Habits: Breeds in March, April and May, laying about three white eggs in a tree hole as usual. Eggs measure about 0.9 by 0.67.

Dendrocopus atratus  Stripe-breasted Pied Woodpecker

Similar to D. macii except that the sides of the head and neck are purer white, and that all the lower parts except the chin are boldly streaked longitudinally with black, the breast especially. The abdomen too, is yellower. Upper mandible dull black, dark brown, or horny brown; lower mandible pale plumbeous or bluish white; irides light wood to deep brown; legs and feet dark plumbeous (Davison).

Size:  Length 8.25;  tail 3;  wing 4.75;  tarsus 0.8;  bill from gape 1.2

Distribution: Manipur; Karennee and Tenasserim hills as far south as Muleyit, east of Moulmein, also Laos. Only found on hills, and not below about 3000 feet elevation.

Dendrocopus auriceps  Brown-fronted Pied Woodpecker

Coloration: Base of lower mandible pale plumbeous, rest of bill bluish horny brown; irides deep brown; legs and feet pale glaucous green (Davison); irides crimson (Scully). Male. Forehead and crown umber-brown; occipital crest golden yellow in front and crimson behind; sides of the head and neck and the chin white finely mixed with black; ear coverts very pale brown; a brown malar band on each side passing into a broad black stripe that breaks up into black spots on the sides of the neck; upper parts from the nape, wings, and tail as in D. macii; lower parts, from throat to abdomen inclusive, fulvescent white, longitudinally streaked with black, middle of abdomen tinged with yellow; lower abdomen and under tail-coverts pale crimson; under wing-coverts white with black spots. The female has no golden yellow nor red on the occiput, which is, however, much yellower than the crown.

Size:  Length 8; tail 3.3;  wing 4.6;  tarsus 0.8;  bill from gape 1

Distribution: Throughout the Western Himalayas as far east as Nepal, chiefly between 2000 and 6000 feet but sometimes as high as 9000. This species has been found in Northern Afghanistan, Hazara (Agror), Kashmir, and is common about several hill-stations.

Habits: D. auriceps is said to come into gardens, and to have a soft rolling whistle. It breeds in April and the first half of May, chiefly in oak and fir-trees, making holes sometimes in the stems, sometimes in branches, at varying heights from the ground, and laying 4 or 5 white eggs that measure about 0.92 by 0.68.

Dendrocopus pectoralis  Spotted-breasted Pied Woodpecker
 

Coloration: Bill bluish black, paler at the base; iris brown; legs and feet plumbeous (Oates). Male. Forehead brownish white; nasal plumes partly black. Crown crimson; sides of face and neck white, the latter with a few black specks. Ear-coverts brownish; a black malar band on each side from the base of the lower mandible to the side of the neck; nape and hind neck black, all the rest of the upper plumage barred black and white. Quills brownish black, with large white spots on both webs; all the tail-feathers barred black and fulvescent white. Chin and throat white; breast and abdomen brownish white, the former distinctly spotted, the latter indistinctly. Flanks barred brown and whitish; vent and under tail coverts spotted with brown and faintly tinged with pink. In the female the crown is black.

Size:  Length 7;  tail 2.5;  wing 4.1;  tarsus 0.7;  bill from gape 1.0

Distribution: Locally distributed in Pegu; common near Thayet Myo, rare to the southward, though this species has been procured near Rangoon. It has been found at Toungngoo and in Karennee, but nowhere in Tenasserim. Outside Indian limits it occurs in Siam, Cochin China, Malacca, Sumatra, Java, and some other islands.

Habits: This Woodpecker, according to Oates, frequents brush-wood and thin tree-jungle, but not heavy forest. The eggs have not been recorded.

Dendrocopus andamanensis  Andaman Pied Woodpecker
 

Very similar to D. pectoralis, especially above, except that on the crown and occiput the feathers are dark grey, tipped with crimson in the male, with brown in the female, the red in the male extending farther back than in D. pectoralis; the present species is also distinguished by the greater prevalence of black, the white bars on the back being narrower, and the white spots on the wing- feathers smaller, whilst the tail-feathers are spotted with white on both webs, not completely banded; the malar band is broken into spots near the mandible; below, the difference from D. pectoralis is greater, as the breast is nearly covered with large spots, the breast- feathers being blackish brown with whitish edges; the abdomen is light fulvous brown; the flanks paler and barred with dark brown; lower abdomen and under tail-coverts crimson; under wing coverts barred.

Bill dark slate-colour, darkest on upper mandible; iris dark brown; legs and feet dark olive-green (W. Ramsey).

Size: Length 7;  tail 2.7;  wing 3.8;  tarsus 0.7;  bill from gape 0.9.

Distribution: The Andaman islands.