Zoological Illustrations/VolII-Pl78
PICUS affinis,
Golden-naped Woodpecker.
Generic Character.—See Pl. 14.
Specific Character.
- P. supra aureo-fuscus, subtus pallidus, fasciis nigris transversis ornatus; capite (in maribus) rubro; nuchâ colloque supra aureis; tectricibus secundis fulvo maculatis; caudâ nigrâ, fasciis fulvis ornatâ.
- Above, orange brown; beneath, pale, with transverse black stripes; head (in the male) red; nape and neck, above, golden yellow; lesser wing covers with yellowish spots; tail black, with yellowish bands.
Ornithologists have either entirely overlooked this bird, or have slightly noticed it as a variety of Picus icterocephalus, the golden-headed Woodpecker, from which it is nevertheless quite distinct.
Total length near seven inches; bill blackish horn colour, and one inch long from the gape; the feathers on the upper part of the head are short and pointed; the tips bright red; the base black; on the hind head they are longer, and change to a bright golden yellow, which spreads round the nape; the ear feathers and front of the head are greyish brown, striped down the middle with whitish, and in some there is an appearance of a whitish line over the eye, joining the nape. The upper parts of the body and wings are of a rich golden brown, with indistinct brighter spots; the lesser wing covers have a whitish spot at the top of each, forming two bands; quills on the inner shaft black, with white spots. Under plumage grey, tinged on the breast with rufous, and banded with brownish black; tail short, black, with interrupted transverse bands of obscure olive.
The female has the head blackish, the feathers tipt with dull white; the ears darker; the plumage above more olive, the spots brighter, and the bands on the body grey, paler, and more indistinct than in the male. The feet in both sexes are greenish, and the wings three inches and a half long.
It inhabits Brasil, but is not common; I found it both in the Province of Bahia, and that of Rio de Janeiro.