Darjeeling Woodpecker Dendrocopos darjellensis Scientific name definitions

Picus (Dendrocopos) darjellensis Blyth, 1845, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 14 p. 196.―Darjeeling and Nepal (2 Blyth, E. (1845). Notices and descriptions of various new or little known species of birds. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 14(164):546–602. Close ).

Foothills of the eastern Himalayas from west-central Nepal east through northeast India, southern Tibet, western Yunnan, western and northern Myanmar, and northwestern Vietnam (3 Dickinson, E. C., and J. V. Remsen, Jr. (2013). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 4th edition. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close ).

Described under Field Identification.

Picus desmursi Verreaux, 1871, Nouvelles Archives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris, Bulletin 6 p. 33.―Mountains of Chinese Tibet (4 Verreaux, J. P. (1871). Note sur les especes nouvelles d’oiseaux recueillis par M. L’Abbe Armand David dans les montagnes du Thibet Chinois. Nouvelles Archives du Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris, Bulletin 6:33–40. Close ).

South-central China (western Sichuan) (3 Dickinson, E. C., and J. V. Remsen, Jr. (2013). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 4th edition. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close ).

Northeastern populations, described as subspecies desmursi, are slightly smaller on average and differ primarily in having a shorter bill, but variation is clinal in nature (5 Vaurie, C. (1965). The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna, Volume 2: Non-passeriformes. H. F. & G. Witherby, London, UK. Close , 6 Winkler, H., D. A. Christie, and D. Nurney (1995). Woodpeckers: A Guide to the Woodpeckers, Piculets and Wrynecks of the World. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ). Vaurie (5 Vaurie, C. (1965). The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna, Volume 2: Non-passeriformes. H. F. & G. Witherby, London, UK. Close ) gives bill lengths for desmursi: two males (29, 31.5 mm) and three females (26.5, 28, 29 mm); compared to nominate from Sikkim and Darjeeling: ten males (36.5–40 mm, mean 37.0) and ten females (33–37 mm, mean 34.7).