A rufous-brown woodpecker whose male has red on the face; it forages at ant nests in forest.
It is rufous-brown overall, and the male has red on the face.
The Rufous Woodpecker was recorded in a bird survey comparing farmland and forest use in West Bhanugach Reserved Forest, northeastern Bangladesh. Researchers surveyed 66 sites between May and June 2017, with 33 sites each in land-sharing and land-sparing areas. They recorded calls within 50 metres of each site and counted 541 birds from 46 species.
The study table reports a mean abundance of 18 ± 5.6 Rufous Woodpeckers at land-sparing sites and 0 ± 2.6 at land-sharing sites. The difference was statistically significant. Land sparing combines higher-yield farming with areas set aside for natural habitat. In this survey, Rufous Woodpeckers were recorded more often in the land-sparing area.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
At West Bhanugach Reserved Forest, mean Rufous Woodpecker abundance was 18 ± 5.6 at land-sparing sites and 0 ± 2.6 at land-sharing sites. The May–June 2017 survey found a statistically significant difference.