The Andaman woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to the Andaman Islands in India. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Region
Andaman Islands, Bay of Bengal
Typical Environment
Occurs in tropical moist lowland and hill forests across the main Andaman Islands, avoiding the Nicobars. It favors primary evergreen and semi-evergreen forest with abundant old, decaying trees, but may also use tall secondary growth and forest edges. Birds forage from the lower trunks to the high canopy, especially on large trees and snags. It can persist in selectively logged areas if sufficient large trees remain, but is scarce in heavily degraded habitats.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 700 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Formerly treated by some authorities as a subspecies of the White-bellied Woodpecker, the Andaman woodpecker is now widely recognized as a distinct species restricted to the Andaman Islands. It relies on large, mature trees for nesting cavities and foraging, making it sensitive to logging. Its loud drumming carries far through dense forest and is often heard before the bird is seen.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
strong flier with bounding flight
Social Behavior
Usually encountered singly or in pairs, sometimes with a dependent juvenile. Pairs maintain territories year-round and excavate nest cavities in large dead or decaying trees. Clutch size is small, and both sexes participate in incubation and chick rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include a loud series of sharp, ringing ki-ki-ki notes and harsher calls given during territorial disputes. Drumming is powerful and resonant, delivered in short bursts on hollow trunks and snags.
Plumage
Predominantly sooty-black woodpecker with a robust, chisel-tipped bill and minimal pale markings. Males show a red crest and often a reddish malar area; females have a darker crest and lack red on the face. In flight, limited pale markings may show on the underwings.
Diet
Feeds mainly on wood-boring beetle larvae, carpenter ants, and other insects extracted from dead or decaying wood. It also gleans insects from bark surfaces and probes crevices with its long sticky tongue. Occasional consumption of fruits or seeds may occur but forms a minor part of the diet.
Preferred Environment
Forages on large trunks, snags, and thick branches in mature evergreen and semi-evergreen forest. Often selects trees with extensive heart-rot or dead limbs where insect prey is concentrated. Will use edges and lightly logged forest if suitable large trees are present.
