Blythipicus pyrrhotis (Hodgson, 1837)

Taxonomic Classification

The bay woodpecker, with the scientific name Blythipicus pyrrhotis (Hodgson, 1837), is a mid-sized bird in the Picidae family, a group that also includes piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers.

Body Size and Weight

It measures 26.5 to 30 cm (10.4 to 11.8 in) in body length, and the average adult has a weight between 126 and 170 g (4.4 to 6.0 oz).

Sexual Dimorphism

Males and females can be told apart by their physical traits: males have a brown crown, a short crest, streaking on the nape, and a pale brown forehead, while females have a shorter bill than males and a pale head with no red coloring on the neck.

Habitat Preferences

Bay woodpeckers inhabit evergreen and mixed deciduous forests, and are most often found in heavily wooded ravines with dense vegetation.

Altitudinal Range

They occupy a wide range of altitudes, from as low as 50 m up to 2750 m.

Geographic Distribution

Their distribution covers the South Asian countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.