OKINAWA WOODPECKER
(Noguchigera)
Sapheopipo
noguchii
Seebohm
The most unique
attraction for ornithologists and birders on Okinawa is unquestionably this
distinct species of woodpecker, found nowhere else in the world except on the
northern mountain peaks of Okinawa. The most accepted common name for this
species in recent English references is Okinawa Woodpecker, although I will
refer to it as Noguchigera (also spelled Noguchi-gera), as that is how it is
known in Okinawa and Japan, and it is endemic to the Japanese island of
Okinawa. It has also been called Pryer's Woodpecker, Noguchi's Woodpecker, and
Noguchi's Okinawa Woodpecker.
Most of the references
to this species are in the Japanese literature and the information is thus
unavailable to those who cannot read Japanese, which unfortunately includes me.
I have made an exhaustive literature search in an attempt to find everything
possible written about this bird in English. In addition, I have observed
Noguchigera in its natural state and on one occasion in captivity. This chapter
contains the results of my study and will hopefully bring this little known,
but fascinating species to the attention of a greater number of people.
Dr. Lester L. Short has
published a very comprehensive article concerning this woodpecker in the May
1973 issue of The Wilson Bulletin. It is entitled, “Habits,
Relationships, and Conservation of the Okinawa Woodpecker,” and contains a
beautiful and accurate color plate of a painting by Albert Earl Gilbert of a
male Okinawa Woodpecker. All references to Short in this chapter will refer to
this article, and I would encourage anyone interested in this woodpecker to
obtain a copy of the article.
During a quick glance at
a Noguchigera in the field, one perceives a medium-sized, dark brown
woodpecker, suffused with a considerable amount of reddish coloration. A
definitive observation of an adult Noguchigera will reveal a woodpecker
approximately 10 inches long with a reddish-brown back, cheeks and throat of
light tan, with a stout, whitish beak, approximately 1 1/2 inches in length.
The male has a red crown, the female a brown one. The wings are dark brown to
black, and when folded have three conspicuous white spots on the primaries. In
flight these become white bars on the outer joint of the wing. The breast is
brown, becoming pink to crimson on the belly. The tail is black. Kuroda, Nm.
(1926) described a female specimen collected in 1925 that lacked white spots on
the outer webs of its primaries.
Published photographs or
illustrations of Noguchigera are hard to find. A 1966 postage stamp of the
Ryukyu Islands features a very accurate color illustration of this woodpecker.
Greenway (1967) features a line drawing of this species on page 363 that
depicts a conspicuous crest. Noguchigera, however, does not have a crest. The
color plate of the painting by Albert Earl Gilbert at the beginning of Short's
article is really outstanding and is the most readily available.
I have taken a number of
photographs of Noguchigera in both the captive and wild state, although I was
not able to get very close in the field. In May 1973, I attended an outstanding
display of wild bird photographs at the Okinawa Times Building. Among these
photographs were a number of very excellent color close-ups of Noguchigera in
its natural state.
As a result of the above
meeting, I met Mr. Hideo Arakaki and Mr. Shine Nakachi of the Okinawa Times who
arranged for my wife and I to see an outstanding motion picture of Noguchigera,
which included pictures of the activities at an active nest hole, adult feeding
the young, etc. Short apparently refers to the same film and indicates it was
take n in 1971 by Mr. Katsu Moriguchi, newsman. A number of pictures of
Noguchigera from this film have appeared in Japanese and English language
papers on Okinawa. In the June 1971 issue of Miscellaneous Reports of the
Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, (Volume 6, No. 3), Plate 2 shows a
black and white picture of the adult feeding its young at the nest hole opening
and the caption reads, "The first photograph of a breeding Sapheopipo
noguchii in Mt. Ibu, Okinawa (May 13, 1971 offered by NTV Television
Comp.)"
Sapheopipo noguchii was first
made known to science when Henry Seebohm described it on page 178 of the 1887 Ibis.
He named it Picus noguchii and reported it as collected from the
Loo-choo Islands, an earlier name for the Ryukyus. Plate VII of that issue of Ibis
contained an illustration of the species. The specimen Seebohm used to describe
this new species was that of an immature male, obtained on an expedition by H.
Pryer and his collector, Mr. Namiye. In 1893 Seebohm published a report in Ibis
of an adult male and two adult female Noguchigeras that were obtained from
Okinawa by his collector, Mr. Holst. Although originally named Picus
noguchii, the species was later placed in a new genus, Sapheopipo,
of which it is the only member.
From Seebohm's period to
the present specimens were infrequently collected, usually by Japanese
ornithologists, and reported on mostly in the Japanese literature. Greenway
(1967) states that he is aware of specimens in Cambridge, Mass.; New York; and
Tokyo. Baker (1948) reports the collection of two specimens on September 2 and
29, 1945, from the dense forest near Hedo. These specimens were collected by
members of the United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2. In a
conservation survey for the Division of International Affairs, National Park
Service in 1965, Dr. George C. Ruhle made two sightings of Noguchigera and
recommended strict protection for the species.
In December of 1970 and
early 1971, great attention was briefly focused on Noguchigera by endangered
species protection associations of many countries when it was learned that a
live fire exercise was planned by the U.S. Marine Corps within the limited
range of Noguchigera. When the military authorities learned of the presence of
this distinct species of woodpecker and the danger posed to the species, the
plans for the live fire exercise were promptly cancelled. The incident did
serve to focus attention on this unique, endemic species. From February 3-9,
1972, Dr. Lester Short of the American Museum of natural History, a world
authority on woodpeckers, visited Okinawa to study Noguchigera. Unfortunately,
I was unaware of his visit until after it had occurred.
I had been on Okinawa
for about six months before I learned of the existence of Noguchigera. I was
visiting the now defunct United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu
Islands (USCAR) in an attempt to learn if any studies had been conducted on the
birds of Okinawa, when Mr. Tomoharu Higa, Forester of the Natural Resources
Division, told mp about Noguchigera, its general range, and gave me one of the
1966 Ryukyus postage stamps with its portrait. I was extremely excited at the
news of this rare, endemic species and began to look for it on each of my trips
north. After a number of unsuccessful trips and with new information gained
from a continuing literature search, I decided to concentrate my search on the
upper portion of Mt. Yonaha. I learned, the route to the area of my successful
sightings by trial and error, and had to purchase a jeep in order to make the
trip up 5.6 miles of extremely rough logging road.
My personal experiences
with Noguchigera are described in the following text, as recorded in my
journal. Unless otherwise noted, all observations took place at the location on
Mt. Yonaha, that I described in the chapter on good birding locations.
Journal: 27 Feb 71 - As I was walking along a narrow trail through broadleaf
forest, I heard what sounded like something scratching or scaling bark. Looking
in the area of the noise, I saw the head and chest silhouette of what appeared
to be a woodpecker facing me from the other side of the branch. Light was poor.
It appeared that the bird may have some rufous color on its head. As I raised
my binoculars to look at it, it flew into a thicket, uttering a single,
high-pitched alarm note.
6
Mar 71 -
From heavy undergrowth adjacent to a tree containing what appeared to be an old
woodpecker hole, we heard a new bird call that I am sure was that of
Noguchigera. It was a raucous, loud, piercing, slurred note that rose in scale.
These loud notes kept up intermittently for about 10 minutes from the same
general area, but we were not able to observe the bird.
Later, I was walking
along a trail that terminated in a dense brushy area. From out of the low brush
I heard a wing noise that sounded similar to that of a dove. The bird flew to
several nearby spots in thick brush and once landed on the side of a sapling,
clutching it in an upright fashion like a woodpecker. No alarm notes or other calls were made. This happened fast
and only glances of the bird were obtained with the naked eye. The bill was
long with some rufous around it on the head. The wing area appeared black with
some large white spots.
7
Mar 71 -
Numerous calls were heard which I felt were those of Noguchigera. It made a
series of long, drawn-out calls, then was silent for a while. Another call was
a long series of short notes going up and down one note in a loud, piercing,
continuous fashion. The calls came from a densely vegetated valley. The
vegetation was about 4 to 6 feet in height and scattered bare trees 15 to 20
feet in height rose above this floor of brush. From a vantage point on a hill
at the side of the valley I could not see any birds flying or in the trees, so
I felt that they were calling from the undergrowth. By calls, I felt that three
individuals might be present.
3
Apr 71 -
I heard one possible call from Noguchigera that was the rapid, raucous
succession of up and down notes. I also heard some loud tapping earlier in the
day.
23
May 71 -
As I was looking at a tree with two Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers in it, I caught
a- glimpse of something large and reddish move up the trunk into the foliage. I
trained my field glasses on the spot and then saw the underparts of a
dove-sized bird. The lower half was bright crimson and I had the name
"fruit pigeon" going through my mind. Then it hopped to the side of
the trunk, ~woodpecker fashion, in clear view and I had my first excellent look
at Noguchigera. It moved about slowly and pecked every now and then, but made
no noise. Then it flew up the valley.
At this time it started
making single, interrogative notes. The note ended in a rising manner, or on an
upswing. I walked up the trail and saw it again, moving from tree to tree. It
was moving in the underparts of the trees that were mostly alive with foliage.
The tapping action of the woodpecker was not making any noise.
Then it flew down low in
the undergrowth to a sapling. It pecked on the sapling a little, then hopped
down to the ground and looked like it was pecking both on the roots and in the
soil. It moved back and forth between sapling and a dead log, but stayed low.
Usually its pecking actions produced no noise. Every now and then it gave a
call note then kept moving, mostly in the low brush.
About this time I heard
wing noise like that of a dove. Looking around I saw another Noguchigera land
on a dead tree fairly close. It moved from dead tree to dead tree pecking on
them. Every now and then the pecking made quite a loud noise. The flight was
undulating and wing noise could be heard.
I followed this bird up
around the hill and got to within about 75 feet of it as it was pecking on a
dead tree. The pecking made a lot of noise and I could see chips of wood
falling. I photographed this bird with a 300 mm lens.
18
Jul 71 -
I heard the call note of a Noguchigera and saw it in flight across the wooded
valley. It landed for a second, then flew again over the ridge.
I heard the call note
again down in the valley. As I searched the valley below with my binoculars, I
saw a Noguchigera hanging upside down on a tree limb, slowly pecking at it. It hopped
down and around the branch, pecking at it and was using its tail as a
conspicuous prop. It got on some dead wood on one of the tree branches and
really pecked on it, making chips fly. Then it flew to a sapling and on up the
hill.
I kept hearing the
"week" single call note of a Noguchigera that seemed to be coming
from another individual. I followed the call note and got very close to the
source, but could not see the bird in the brush. Then I heard a call note from
the other direction and a Noguchigera flew in and landed on a tree with bare
trunk and branches. The other Noguchigera flew to this tree and both made some
call notes and were pecking together on the same tree. They flew off together
into the forest from which I continued to hear an occasional call note.
After returning to my
jeep, I heard the call that we had heard on 6-7 March, the rapid succession of
notes going up and down, deviating just one note either way from the mean.
25
Jul 71 -
As we were getting out of the jeep at 7:45 a.m., we heard a Noguchigera call
the rapid succession of up and down notes. Later, as we were standing
motionless on the trail, my wife, Cindy, noticed a pair of Noguchigeras land on
a nearby tree and called my attention to it. They were silent and provided an excellent
comparison of the sexes. The male had a red crown and the female had a brown
crown. With the exception of the different crown colorations, both birds had
similar coloration. They hopped a few steps up the tree and pecked silently a
few times, then flew. In flight, the white spots of the folded wing expanded to
become stripes in the first joint of the wing. The male landed on a nearby
branch, pecked a few times, and flew again. Then for the first time of the day,
we heard one utter a single call note.
11
Sep 71 -
We heard a Noguchigera call note fairly close to us.
26
Feb 72 - Today
we drove up Mt Nishime, a 420 meter mountain at the north tip of Okinawa. A
rough road was bulldozed through dense broadleaf forest, the same habitat as
that of Mt. Yonaha.
As we were about to
leave the area, we heard the calls of Noguchigera. The calls continued during a
25 minute period beginning about 12:00 noon. First there were several of the
long succession of raucous, grating, “squark's,” slurring upwards. At one time
it seemed to me that there were two birds calling. The calls were coming from a
wooded valley adjacent to the road.
27
Feb 72 -
While walking down a bulldozed path through broadleaf forest. I heard wing
noise followed a few seconds later by the staccato “weeck” call note of
Noguchigera. I looked into the forest and saw a male Noguchigera clutching the
side of a four inch in diameter sapling, approximately three to four feet from
the ground. I saw him well with the naked eye as he was only about 20 feet
away. Then he flew to a succession of three or four live saplings perching low
on the trunks of each. Once he was about a foot from the ground and never did
he perch higher than about five feet above the ground. The forest canopy in
this area was about 20 feet high.
From the initial
sighting until he flew back into the forest too far to be seen, approximately
45 seconds had elapsed. During this time he made about 5 call notes.
10
Mar 72 -
We heard the longer calls of Noguchigera several times during the morning, but
they always sounded pretty far away and did not last long. Around noon I heard
a loud tapping noise lasting about three seconds, coming from the adjacent
forest. After a twenty second pause, I heard the note of Noguchigera, repeated
several times during a two minute period.
25
Jun 72 -
While walking along the forest trail at 10:00 a.m., we saw a Noguchigera fly
from foliage, in fifteen feet high bushes adjacent to the trail, across the
trail and down the slope a little into the valley about 100 feet away. It first
landed on a tree, but after about 30 seconds, it flew down to the rather dense
foliage of a tree or bush about fifteen feet high.
Here it moved about
through the foliage with the same general type of habitats as white-eyes have.
Sometimes it was out of sight, but the foliage was moving which indicated where
it was. Some of the branches it grabbed a hold of bent down under its weight
and it hung on upside down. The individual was a male with bright reddish
crown. Its bill was a horn color rather than white.
Once he perched on top
of a branch in plain view and thrust his beak into a stalk of seed pods. The
manner in which he moved his beak around inside the stalk of seed pods seemed
very unwoodpecker like. As a matter of fact, this whole display of moving about
through the foliage seemed more typical of a vireo than a woodpecker.
The whole sighting
lasted about two or three minutes during which I heard one call note. Then he
flew up the valley for a short distance and was lost from sight. We walked up
the trail a little, then after ten minutes I walked back down to this area. I
heard his call note, but could not see it. Then I heard two more call notes in
quick succession and saw it fly out of a foliaged tree about 20 feet high and fly
down the valley.
I walked back up the
trail and in about 100 yards, I saw a dove-sized bird fly across the trail with
what appeared to be labored flight. I heard wing noise and saw several
undulations of the bird in flight. Went back down the trail to where I thought
this individual might land. I heard several Noguchigera call notes, then saw it
fly across the trail from one barren tree into a forest of thick vegetation. I
could not locate it again. Since this bird came from up the valley, and the one
I had just seen flew down the valley, I feel sure that two individuals were
present.
27
May 73 -
I visited the area today with Phil Warren on what would be my last trip to Mt.
Yonaha during my period of residence on Okinawa.
We saw one and possibly
two Noguchigera. We saw one individual in flight to a tree and heard its loud
tapping noise. We saw its side view then it flew off. A Noguchigera (possibly
the same individual) perched, for a few moments on a narrow tree to the left of
where the previous bird had landed, then flew off.
Noguchigera
in Captivity -
I learned of some Noguchigeras that were being maintained in captivity near the
Kunigami-Son municipal office in Hentona Village and visited them on July 3,
1971. Since the Noguchigera is protected as a Natural Monument, I assume that
special permission was sought from the Government of the Ryukyu Islands to keep
the birds in temporary captivity.
We found three
Noguchigeras contained in cages in the yard of a private residence behind the
municipal office. Two were in one of the cages, which was about a yard square
by two feet high. These individuals had reddish-orange-brown breasts, black
wings with white spots on the primaries, and red crowns. The beaks were stout,
about 1 1/2 inches long, of a whitish color with a brownish-black base. The
throat was a light buff color. One had a tail that was fairly well developed
while the other's tail was missing.
The backs were
reddish-brown with lots of reddish showing. They had three long toes, and one
short one. They perched with two toes forward and two toes to the rear. They
were about eight inches in length including the tail and were supposedly about
four months old. Due to a language barrier we could not really communicate with
the caretakers. We were offered fresh watermelon and the caretakers put the
watermelon rinds into the cage. The Noguchigera pecked at these.
Another Noguchigera was
in a separate, cylindrical cage with a log in it. This bird was about eight to
nine inches long. It looked a little older and had a frayed tail, although I
still felt that it was an immature. It had a much redder breast and whiter bill
than the other two.
It was very tame. It
stuck its long tongue out from its beak to lick water from the fingers of the
caretaker. It also stuck its tongue out and accepted a live caterpillar offered
by the caretaker. All three birds appeared to be in good condition. I do not
know what they were being fed, but small dishes of seed and vegetable matter
were in the cages.
While we were watching
them, they occasionally made a call that was one whistle note ending on an
upturn. They also made a little guttural noise. Additional descriptive data
includes brown cheeks, black eye, and a black tail. At rest the wings were
black with two white dots on the lower primaries.
It was very hot and the
birds kept their beaks open quite a bit like they were panting. One was
observed to drink water from a dish on the side of its cage.
Also present in the yard
of the residence was an approximately four foot section cut from a tree trunk
containing a woodpecker hole. I did not have material with me to take
measurements and planned to do so on the next visit. Since logging is conducted
in this area, I felt that the tree may have been cut down without realizing
that an active nest was present and thus the young Noguchigeras were obtained
and raised.
To the astonishment of
the caretakers, I took an entire 36 exposure roll of slides of the young
Noguchigeras.
I returned to this
location about two months later, but learned that the Noguchigeras had been
released. Due to a complete language barrier, I was unable to learn details.
* * * * *
The text that follows
contains what I have been able to learn about the life history of Noguchigera. The
information was drawn from my personal observations and a comprehensive
literature search of information printed in English. The following certainly
does not present a completed picture, merely a base upon which to build. The
Japanese literature contains many additional exciting facts and observations I
am sure, but there is still much to be learned about this rare and magnificent
species.
The habitat of
Noguchigera is the original, undisturbed, dense, broadleaf forest generally
found above the 250 meter level on the mountains of northern Okinawa. Short
estimated this area at approximately five square miles. The present range of
this species extends from Mt. Iyu (sometimes written Ivu, 449 m.) to Mt.
Nishime, 420 m., (approaching Mt. Hedozaki, 248 m.) in the Kunigami area. Most
of the observations have been reported from the Mt. Yonaha area, 498 m.,
followed by Mt. Nishime and Mt. Ibu, 354 m.
Kuroda, Nm (1925)
reports that Ogawa (1905) collected seven specimens of Sapheopipo noguchii
from Nagogatake, Okinawa. This is apparently a reference to Mt. Nago, 345
meters, located near the neck of the Motobu Peninsula. Suitable habitat exists
for Noguchigera on the high mountains of this area, such as Mt. Yae, 453 m.,
and Mt. Katsu, 451 m., on the Motobu Peninsula, and on nearby mountains of the
main part of the island, such as Mt. Kushi, Mt. Nago, Mt. Tano, Mt. Hitotsu,
and Mt. Ubashi. Ogawa's specimens indicate that a population of Noguchigera
once existed in this area, and I think it would definitely be worthy of further
investigation to see if any individuals remain. There is a good road up Mt.
Tano, 396 m., and I hope someone will spend some time in this area in March and
April, listening for the calls of 'Noguchigera.
Short goes into
considerable detail on range and population estimates for the mountain peaks in
the Kunigami area. Since Noguchigera must have the original forest habitat to
survive, the population can be separated into small groups (if not already
accomplished) by acts of deforestation that cut the original forest into
separate patches. Short states on p. 18, "The greatest danger to the
woodpecker, aside from the obvious small extent of remaining undisturbed
forests, is the fragmentation of its population into scattered tiny colonies
and even isolated pairs."
There is certainly much
to be learned concerning the behavior of Noguchigera. Kuroda, Nm. (1925)
contains an interesting statement about Noguchigera in quotation marks, which
was apparently made by Mr. Orii, Kuroda's collector: "Very rare resident
in the virgin forest on Yonahadake at an altitude of about 1,600 feet above sea
level in Okinawajima. It is found near or on the ground in the deep woods,
never climbing up the tall tree in day time. It seems to haunt the bamboo
jungle a few feet from the ground, because the two specimens before me have
their tail feathers soiled with mud at the end. It feeds on insects in the
rotten parts of bamboo stalk. It seems to hop on the ground..." The above
statement was made concerning a male and female Noguchigera collected on Mt.
Yonaha in 1922.
Contrary to the above
statement, I have seen Noguchigera on the upper portions of trees during the
day time. The reference to bamboo jungle is also interesting. While I have seen
species of bamboo in the forest inhabited by Noguchigera, it did not appear to
me to be a predominate species, certainly not enough to call it a "bamboo
jungle."
The reason I cited the
above passage, however, is the reference it makes to Noguchigera's preference
for the low elevations of the forest and the ground. My own observations
support this and I believe it is one of the major reasons for the difficulty in
finding Noguchigera, even in locations where it is known to occur. It seems to
spend much of its time in the low portions of the dense forest and even on the
ground where it is very difficult to detect in the dense undergrowth.
On p. 7, Short states:
"The Okinawa Woodpecker forages mainly near the ground in various dead or
live trees and bamboos, in stubs, and on moss-draped fallen logs and debris
littering the forest floor. It does not feed on the ground in the manner of the
ant-foraging flickers (Colaptes ssp.) or Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis), but
frequents the bases of trees and stubs, and hops about on fallen logs, and debris
amid dense low bushes. Occasionally it perches on the ground, or hops across a
small area of open ground near logs, to gain a more favorable position for
feeding."
Short further states on
p. 7-8: "Foraging of the Okinawa Woodpecker during early February, 1972,
was by excavating, tapping, probing, and flicking aside of rotten wood ...
Rotting stubs, logs, and even rotten sticks 2 or 3 cm in diameter lying on the
ground are used, and if the wood is well rotted it literally is hacked apart
leaving (on logs or the ground) a mound of loose wood particles. The gouges in
rotten stubs mentioned above are obvious signs of the Okinawa Woodpecker’s
excavating habits, but it chisels smaller circular or rectangular holes in live
trees and bamboos."
It is also a shy bird
and will fly away as soon as it detects the presence of a human. Thus as one
moves through its habitat, most sightings occur by chance and are rather brief.
Its tapping frequently makes very little noise. In my observations this seemed
to occur when it was tapping on live trees, or when it was tapping with little
vigor, perhaps just testing areas of the tree. Loud tapping noises are heard,
however, especially when it is working on dead wood. It has an undulating
flight and a wing noise like that of a dove can frequently be heard at close
range.
Since Noguchigera is
generally shy and inconspicuous, its presence can most easily be detected by
voice. My perception of its calls are described in my journal. The species has
at least three types of calls that I am aware of. The first is what I have
termed its call note. This is a single syllable, interrogative type of note
that sounds like “weeck” with an upward inflection at the end. This is
not a loud call and may be heard once or several times when one is close to a
Noguchigera.
The other two calls are
very loud and can be heard at a considerable distance. One of the calls is a
raucous, grating, dragged out “squarrrrrrrk” slurring upwards. This call
may be repeated several times at intervals of under a minute. The other call I
describe as a long series of rapid notes going up and down by one note either
way from the median tone level. Although I certainly lack abundant data, I feel
that Noguchigera is most vocal from late February through April. Short presents
considerable material on the vocalizations of Noguchigera.
Chiba (1969) reported on
a stomach analysis of Japanese woodpeckers and concluded that among the eight
species of Japanese woodpeckers studied, Noguchigera was one of three species
that consumed a large amount of vegetable food. The stomach contents of two
Noguchigera taken in the month of April were examined. The stomach of one
individual contained amongst animal foods: three Cerambycidae sp.
(larvae), 23 spiders, and 50 beetles; amongst vegetable foods: 15 Rubus
Sieboldi seeds and two Rhus succedanea seeds. The stomach of the
other specimen contained amongst animal foods: two Cerambycidae sp.
larvae, 12 spiders and 15 beetles; amongst vegetable foods: 200 Rubus
Sieboldi seeds.
An article in the March
1973 issue of The Okinawan Kokoku, a local Japan/English newspaper,
presented the following information based upon information from the Okinawa
Birds Protection Association: "...Their food is mainly derived
from...larvae of insects such as Longicorn Beetles, Centipedes, and moths. They
also eat plant food such as the Myrica, and nuts of Pasania and
Machilus-Thunbergri."
I made no direct
observations of the nesting or breeding behavior of Noguchigera. Certainly much
remains to be learned in this area. Cultural Assets of the Ryukyus
contains the following statement concerning Noguchigera, "Piercing a hole
of about 9 cm in diameter, and 75 cm in depth on a dead tree at the height of
about l.5 meters from the ground, it builds a nest and lays a few eggs in
April." The Okinawan Kokoku states in the same article mentioned
above, "Average amount of young 2-3. They begin to nest in the last part
of December, building up to feverish activity in February, March, April and May
is mating season. Nests are in trees near swamps measuring 80-120 cm in
diameter. Moss, leaves of trees and ferns are used to line their nests."
The above information
needs to be taken with a grain of salt, and if anything, points out how much
remains to be learned and reported in this area. I have seen no swamps in
Noguchigera's habitat and doubt that they line their nests. I saw occasional
woodpecker holes in the Mt. Yonaha area which I believe were those of
Noguchigera. They were usually at a height of ten to fifteen feet or more from
the ground and appeared to be about two and one half to three inches in
diameter. Ruhle (1965) reported nest holes as much as 2 1/2 inches in diameter
and greater than one foot deep.
Short reports that the
Okinawa Woodpecker nests in April and May based on several sources of
information. The captive juveniles that I observed on July 3, 1971, were
supposedly about four months old. They were probably younger, maybe three
months old. If so, then they would have been hatched in the vicinity of April
3. The photo of a breeding Noguchigera at the nest was taken on May 13.
For further information
on the Okinawa woodpecker, I would strongly recommend Dr. Short's article. A
copy of his article or of the March 1973 The Wilson Bulletin (while they
last) may be obtained for a fee from, "The Josselyn Van Tyne Memorial
Library, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109,
U.S.A." The summary of Dr. Short's article (p, 19) is quoted below:
"The endemic,
endangered Okinawa woodpecker (Sapheopipo noguchii), comprising a
monotypic genus, inhabits scattered patches of original forest in northern
Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands. Brief studies in February 1972 established that it
forages by excavating for insects in trees, and particularly in rotting
branches, and stubs, and in rotten trees and branches lying on the ground. It
is found at low levels in trees and undergrowth, much as is Blythipicus
rubiginosus in Southeast Asia. Various calls are described, as is drumming.
Vocalizations show resemblances to those of Blythipicus and Picus.
What is known of this woodpecker's anatomy, and its behavior strongly suggest
that Sapheopipo noguchii is related to the Blythipicus-Gecinulus-Picus
line of woodpeckers, and not to Picoides (Dendrocopos). Although
only five to eight individuals actually were observed, information available
from my field observations of its habitat, and from Ryukyu Island forestry
officials suggests a population of 20 pairs (possibly as many as 60 pairs)
distributed patchily over about 1500 ha of the Okinawa highlands.
Wood-gathering, wood-cutting, forest clearing and replacement by exotic tree
plantations, and fires are reducing the natural forests. Because the woodpecker
requires undisturbed forest with plenty of rotting trees for foraging, and with
standing trees and stubs 25 cm or more in diameter for nesting, the various
human activities just mentioned are fragmenting its remaining small population
and threatening it with immediate danger of extinction. Loss of this
distinctive species and genus of woodpecker can be prevented only by fast
action to establish one or, better, several effectively protected, suitably
large preserves containing a few pairs of Okinawa Woodpeckers. Proper management
of forests in the surrounding regions may permit reestablishment of the species
over a large area, such that it no longer would be in danger."
Noguchigera is
designated as a Natural Monument of Japan and is the Okinawa Prefectural bird.
Last modified: October 19, 2002.
IKENAGA, Hiroshi, ikecho@mail1.accsnet.ne.jp