Il Picchio dalmatino, Dendrocopos leucotos lilfordi, sull’Appennino centrale

Il Picchio dalmatino (o Picchio dorsobianco di Lilford) è una sottospecie del Picchio dorsobianco, Dendrocopos leucotos, anche se le sue caratteristiche genetiche potrebbero avvalorare l’ipotesi di una separazione al rango di specie. La distribuzione di lilfordi si estende, in modo molto frammentato e localizzato, dai Pirenei al Caucaso. L’areale italiano, rispetto ai siti riproduttivi più vicini, si trova a oltre 1000 km dai Pirenei e a circa 570 km dalla Slovenia (distanza calcolata via terra). La spiccata sedentarietà, la distribuzione localizzata e la stretta dipendenza con le vecchie faggete montane, rendono la ridotta popolazione appenninica (250-350 coppie) alquanto vulnerabile e completamente dipendente dal futuro stato di conservazione del suo habitat ottimale. Dedico questo video al mio Maestro Edgardo Moltoni, che ha scoperto nel 1959 la nidificazione di alcune coppie nel Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo. The White-backed Woodpecker, Dendrocopos leucotos lilfordi, in the central Apennines (Italy). Uncommon local resident breeder. The Italian breeding range is restricted to the central Apennines (Abruzzo, Lazio, Molise). Recent breeding occurrences were first proven by Edgardo Moltoni in 1959 in the Abruzzo National Park, where Dedrocopos leucotos lilfordi highly was probably overlooked, as confirmed by three specimens caught there in the years 1927-1930 and preserved at the local museum. Breeding territories are established in extensive, single-species or mixed, beech and oak forests with rich understorey, large clearings and abundant dead or decaying trees. The most favoured habitat is the mature beech-wood naturally growing in upland areas but young, albeit multi-aged, stands with limited dead wood are also inhabited. In the Abruzzo-Latium-Molise National Park, the highest densities are noted in woods with large trees (average trunk diameter over 70 cm at breast height), canopy cover of 60-75% and abundant dead timber. Breeding territories are most frequent between 1,100 and 1,700 m. Only one brood is laid annually between early April and mid-May, with a recent advance of 2-3 weeks compared to the 80s-90s. The total Italian population was estimated at 250-350 pairs in the mid-2000s, with the majority of birds (70%) in the Abruzzo-Latium-Molise National Park. The actual status of the White-backed Woodpecker population breeding in Italy is still poorly known but the breeding population appears to be stable in the optimal areal. Its strictly sedentariness, highly localized distribution and ecological specialization make D. l. lilfordi highly vulnerable. Its future will depend on the conservation of old, naturally evolving beech forests rich in dead or decaying trees, both standing and on the ground.