Heart-spotted Woodpecker

The heart-spotted woodpecker is a tiny, unusually shaped woodpecker 15–17 cm long, with a thin neck, oversized wedge-shaped crested head and very short rounded tail. Its black-and-buff plumage includes broad white shoulder patches patterned with black heart-shaped spots. Males have a black crown sprinkled with small white marks, while females have a buff-white forehead and crown. A pale throat and dark olive-grey underparts complete the pattern, making the species distinctive even in brief views (BirdForum species account; Wikipedia, general species account).

It occurs from southwestern and central India through Myanmar and Thailand to Indochina, using humid deciduous and evergreen forest, secondary growth, bamboo and forest edge up to roughly 1,400 m. Pairs or small parties search slender outer branches for ants, termites, grubs and other insects beneath bark, frequently joining mixed-species flocks. The nest is excavated in a dead branch, with a narrow entrance leading down to a chamber. Published accounts report clutches of two to three eggs (Wildlife Institute of India habitat account; Oiseaux.net species data).