About Meiglyptes tristis grammithorax (Malherbe, 1862)
The zebra woodpecker (Meiglyptes tristis) is a bird species belonging to the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Java. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, and it is classified as endangered. American naturalist Thomas Horsfield formally described the zebra woodpecker in 1821, giving it the binomial name Picus tristis based on a specimen collected in Java. The specific epithet tristis is Latin, meaning "sad" or "gloomy". This species is currently placed in the genus Meiglyptes, which was first introduced by English naturalist William Swainson in 1837. While the zebra woodpecker is currently treated as a monotypic species, it was previously considered to be the same species as the buff-rumped woodpecker, with the two classified as separate subspecies. Beyond its natural forest habitats, the zebra woodpecker also occurs in coconut, rubber, and silk plantations, villages adjacent to secondary forest, mangroves, and polyculture areas, and it is known to use disturbed habitats. There is scientific disagreement over whether the species occurs in primary and secondary forests.
