The helmeted pecker , Dryocopus galeatus , sports a vivid crimson crest on its head and bold black - and - lily-white stripe on its undersurface . It look so much like two other woodpecker mintage in South America that researcher suppose they were closely related . However , accord to a new genetic analysis , this shy bird is a very distant full cousin to the other two , who just so happen to be much larger , socially dominant species .
conversant representative of mimicry typically demand warding off piranha : butterfly with owl - eye patternson their wing or toothsome Hydra thatlook like deadly ones , for example . These new determination highlight a rare form of optical apery known as interspecific societal laterality mimicry , or ISDM .
From their colouration to their home ground and food for thought preferences , the helmeted woodpecker ( pictured above on the left over ) divvy up many similar traits with the larger woodpeckersDryocopus lineatus(above on the right ) andCampephilus robustus(below to the right ) . But whenMark Robbins from the University of Kansasheard the helmeted peckerwood vocalize in Intervales State Park in Brazil , he was stunned that its call sounded nothing like otherDryocopusbirds living in the neotropics . The skirt was originally placed within that genus about a 100 ago because of its appearance . However , the call are much more interchangeable to Bronx cheer in the genusCeleus , such as thisfiery beau . Kevin Zimmer from theLos Angeles County Museum of Natural Historycame to the same conclusion independently , based on two decades of behavioral observance .
“ The helmeted woodpecker is essentially a typicalCeleusinDryocopusclothing,”American Museum of Natural History ’s Brett Benzsays in astatement . Its plumage converge in appearance on distantly related woodpeckers , and it actually belong to inCeleus . The trio ’s findings will be release in The Auk : Ornithological Advances , and it ’s available online now atbioRxiv .
By looking like the big , more prevalent woodpeckers , the helmeted woodpecker is less likely to be attack by those very same birds they ’re mimicking . The cost of aggression and contest between member of the same species makes it not worth it . And as a result , the shyer , more submissive peckerwood gains more access to nutrient .
“ It has only recently been appreciated that small coinage may benefit from deceptively mime gravid species to protect themselves from aggressive attack,”saysYale ’s Richard Prum , who helped shape the ISDM hypothesis . “ This is similar to how a 12 - year - old tiddler walking home from school will look and move elusive to attempt to prevent himself from being plague by older , bigger kids . ” The poorly interpret little bird is found in Brazil , Paraguay , and Argentina and has already vanished from much of its range because of deforestation .
Images : K. Zimmer and R.J. Moller
