A Magellanic Woodpecker is a beautiful bird with a unique and humorous appearance. The Magallanic Woodpecker is one of three woodpecker species found in South America and due to its uniqueness, it has been put into its own genus called Campephilus.
The distinctive feature of this woodpecker is that it alone bears a black stripe through its eyes that also extends down across its chest. Its thick plumage provides excellent insulation against the harsh cold which dominates much of this bird's habitat on Tierra del Fuego. During winter, when temperatures dip below freezing point, the magallenic woodpecker's plumage changes to white to provide camouflage. When the summer season returns, it turns back into its usual black colouring.
Their habitat is in the forests which are dense patches of Nothofagus trees that grow along mountainsides with mosses and lichens covering their trunks. These birds have been known to live up 80 years in captivity, but in their natural environment this number can be reduced due to predation from introduced mammals such as foxes and feral cats. In fact, woodpeckers are vulnerable all over the world due to deforestation where they lose vital habitats for nesting.
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