Endangered
Fernandina's Flicker
Colaptes fernandinae
Endemic to Cuba, it is severely threatened by habitat loss and is one of the most endangered species of woodpecker in the world.
Appearance
The ear-coverts are a buffish-yellow to cinnamon. The chin and throat are off-white with heavy black streaking. Males have a distinctive black malar stripe, while in females the black malar is instead heavily streaked with white. The upperparts are pale yellow to yellowish-tan, with dense blackish-brown to black barring, while the underparts are pale yellowish-buff with dark brown barring that is paler and weaker on the belly.
Fernandina's flicker is a medium-sized woodpecker, ranging in length from 14–15 in (36–38 cm).
Range and habitat
Fernandina's flicker is endemic to Cuba, where it occurs primarily in lowland open-palm savannah and dry savanna, dry forests,pastures, swampy forest, forest edges, and sometimes in dense woodlands. Even though it was apparently never common, it was formerly found across the island. The largest population is found in Zapata Swamp, where some 120 pairs are estimated to live, though this number may have dropped following recent hurricanes.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet and breeding
Like other flickers, Fernandina's flicker often forages on the ground. It primarily feeds on ants, but will also pursue other insects, worms, grubs, and seeds. In addition to ground foraging, it also feeds on ants & termites found in both live and dead palms, particularly during the wet season when the ground is flooded.
Fernandina's flicker breeds between March and June. From late December through January courtship takes place, during that pairs regularly engage in high-flying chases. Nest excavation begins in February or March.
In crisis
It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Fernandina's flicker is one of the most endangered woodpecker species in the world, with population estimates varying from a maximum total of 300-400 to estimates of 600-800 birds, that occur in small, scattered subpopulations. The population is declining, principally because of ongoing habitat loss.
Introduced mammals also pose a threat. Estimating the total population or number of breeding pairs is difficult, as the birds tend to be sparsely and seemingly randomly distributed throughout suitable habitat.
Fernandina's Flicker is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Fernandina's Flicker, Wikidata item Q773501. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
