Kaempfer's Woodpecker
© Ciro Albano
Species of the Day: Kaempfer’s Woodpecker Kaempfer’s Woodpecker, Celeus obrieni, is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. This woodpecker was previously feared extinct before being rediscovered in northeast Tocantins State, Central Brazil, in 2006, 80 years after the only previous record. It was long treated as a subspecies of another woodpecker from the Andes, but is distinct in several ways, not least its very different habitat. Geographical range
www.iucnredlist.org www.birdlife.org Help Save Species www.arkive.org
The greatest threat to Kaempfer’s Woodpecker is the destruction of its Cerrado habitat. Within the region there are huge losses of indigenous Cerrado each year for soya and other crop cultivation, beef production, the cellulose pulp industry and infrastructural developments. The species’ habitat is also frequently degraded by criminal arsonism carried out to justify the expansion of cattle ranching. Recent records suggest that Kaempfer’s Woodpecker may be more numerous than currently thought; it is now known to range discontinuously through some 280,000 square kilometres, showing a strong association with Gadua bamboo. However, with so little known about this elusive species, there is a pressing need for further surveys to determine the full extent of its range and to estimate its population size. Species of the Day is sponsored by
The production of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is made possible through the IUCN Red List Partnership: IUCN (including the Species Survival Commission), BirdLife International, Conservation International, NatureServe and Zoological Society of London.
Species of the Day: Kaempfer’s Woodpecker Kaempfer’s Woodpecker, Celeus obrieni, is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. This woodpecker was previously feared extinct before being rediscovered in northeast Tocantins State, Central Brazil, in 2006, 80 years after the only previous record. It was long treated as a subspecies of another woodpecker from the Andes, but is distinct in several ways, not least its very different habitat. Geographical range
www.iucnredlist.org www.birdlife.org Help Save Species www.arkive.org
The greatest threat to Kaempfer’s Woodpecker is the destruction of its Cerrado habitat. Within the region there are huge losses of indigenous Cerrado each year for soya and other crop cultivation, beef production, the cellulose pulp industry and infrastructural developments. The species’ habitat is also frequently degraded by criminal arsonism carried out to justify the expansion of cattle ranching. Recent records suggest that Kaempfer’s Woodpecker may be more numerous than currently thought; it is now known to range discontinuously through some 280,000 square kilometres, showing a strong association with Gadua bamboo. However, with so little known about this elusive species, there is a pressing need for further surveys to determine the full extent of its range and to estimate its population size. Species of the Day is sponsored by
The production of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is made possible through the IUCN Red List Partnership: IUCN (including the Species Survival Commission), BirdLife International, Conservation International, NatureServe and Zoological Society of London.
