Saturday 1 October 2011

Habitats: Bamboo - Bambuseae

There are around 1450 species of bamboo (an evergreen member of the grass family) around the world. Many occur in tropical regions, mainly in SE Asia but also the Americas and Africa, and some in temperate regions. As a habitat for picids, bamboo may not immediately spring to mind, however many piculets and some true woodpeckers forage and nest in bamboo. Others, such as the appropriately named Bamboo Woodpecker Gecinulus viridis of south-east Asia, specialise in this habitat. For many species bamboo is also a favoured substrate upon which to drum as it resonates very well, especially when mature or dead. Photo taken in northern Malaysia, Gerard Gorman.

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