WOODPECKERS   -   PICIDAE   -   PART II

Yellow-throated Woodpecker Piculus flavigula erythropis Folha Seca, São Paulo state, Brazil. Male. This one is from the isolated red-throated race, endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest of southeastern Brazil, possibly merits full species status. (D3)

White-browed (Yellow-browed) Woodpecker Piculus aurulentus Hotel Veraneio Hampel, São Francisco de Paula, Rio Grande de Sul state, Brazil. Female. The males have complete red crowns. This woodpecker is endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest. (D4)

Golden-olive Woodpecker Colaptes rubiginosus rubripileus Quebrada Limon, Lambayeque department, Peru. Female, without the red malar of the male. (D2)		Golden-olive Woodpecker Colaptes rubiginosus alleni Near Minca, Santa Marta mtns, Magdalena department, Colombia. Male.  An endemic race to the Santa Marta mountains. (D3)

Gray-crowned Woodpecker Colaptes auricularis La Soledad, Oaxaca state, Mexico. Male. Endemic to western Mexico. (S5)

Gray-crowned Woodpecker Colaptes auricularis La Soledad, Oaxaca state, Mexico. Male. The same bird as in the above photo, pecking at a branch of a pine tree. (S5)

Crimson-mantled Woodpecker Colaptes rivolii brevirostris Tandayapa Bird Lodge, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Male. A  beautiful woodpecker of the Andes. (S6)

Crimson-mantled Woodpecker Colaptes rivolii brevirostris Tandayapa Valley, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Female. (S4)

Spot-breasted Woodpecker Colaptes punctigula punctipectus 20km south of Calabozo, Guárico state, Venezuela. Male. This is the race occurring through most of Venezuela, with a greenish cast to the back. (D3)

Green-barred Woodpecker Colaptes melanochloros melanochloros Santuário de Caraça, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Female. She is at her nest in a dead palm tree. (S5)

Green-barred Woodpecker Colaptes melanochloros nattereri Pousada Piuval, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Female. (D2)		Green-barred (Golden-breasted) Woodpecker Colaptes melanochloros leucofrenatus Yavi, Jujuy province, Argentina. Male. Formerly treated as a distinct species, but the consensus these days is to lump them mainly due to evidence of interbreeding. (D3)

Campo Flicker Colaptes campestris campestris Pousada Piuval, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. Female. The nominate race, with a dark throat. (D2)

Campo Flicker Colaptes campestris campestroides Quinta, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. Female. The southern race, with a pale throat, which is often called "Field Flicker". (D4)

Waved Woodpecker Celeus undatus undatus Imitaca Forest (Rio Grande), Bolívar state, Venezuela. Female. (D3)		Scale-breasted Woodpecker Celeus grammicus verreauxii Sacha Lodge, Orellana province, Ecuador. Male. Photographed distantly from one of the canopy towers. This species' canopy-dwelling habits make it hard to get a decent shot of. (D2)

Blond-crested Woodpecker Celeus flavescens flavescens Serra dos Tucanos Lodge, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Female. Like Melanerpes, many Celeus woodpeckers regularly eat fruit. This bird was coming in to bananas put out a feeding station. (S5)

Blond-crested Woodpecker Celeus flavescens ochraceus Near São João dos Patos, Maranhão state, Brazil. Female. A horrid shot, but there's a story behind it. I was birding in an area that was near to the historical range of Celeus obrieni, at that time a lost species not recorded for 80 years. A brief glimpse and a few call notes had me chasing this bird for hours before finally nailing it down, only to find it was the widespread Blond-crested Woodpecker, just a different race than I had previously seen. C. obrieni was finally rediscovered ten months later in October 2006, about 500 km southwest of here. (D3)		Cream-colored Woodpecker Celeus flavus flavus Sacha Lodge, Orellana province, Ecuador. Female peering out of a nest. (P1)

Ringed Woodpecker Celeus torquatus occidentalis Serra dos Carajás, Pará state, Brazil. Male. I was originally confused by the race information published in HBW, which implied that the nominate race (which this clearly isn't) would be in Pará. Rasmus Boegh helpfully set me straight on this: the nominate race only occurs in Pará north of the Amazon, with occidentalis occurring south of the Amazon. There is a recently described race pieteroyensi from E Pará and W Maranhao, but apparently it is not a widely accepted taxon, and it would be hard to separate from occidentalis. I haven't been able to get a copy of the article yet, as it is described in a rather obscure journal: Bol. Mus. Para. Emílio Goeldi, sér. Zool. 8(2) : 386. (D3)

Lineated Woodpecker Dryocopus lineatus lineatus El Paujil reserve, Santander department, Colombia. Male, with a complete red crown and red malar. (S5)

Lineated Woodpecker Dryocopus lineatus lineatus Cabañas Copalinga, Zamora-Chinchipe province, Ecuador. Female, lacking the red malar and forehead of the male. (D2)		Lineated Woodpecker Dryocopus lineatus fuscipennis Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Male. Smaller and browner than the race shown in the previous shots. (D3)

Crimson-crested Woodpecker Campephilus melanoleucos malherbii Parque Metropolitano, Panama City, Panama. Male. This race, from Panama to N Colombia, has a darker bill and more cinnamon cast the underparts. (S2f)		Crimson-crested Woodpecker Campephilus melanoleucos malherbii San Lorenzo ridge, Sierra de Santa Marta, Magdalena department, Colombia. Female. This was at a very high elevation of about 2200 meters. (D3)

Guayaquil Woodpecker Campephilus gayaquilensis Mangaloma reserve, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Very closely related to Crimson-crested Woodpecker Campephilus melanoleucos above. (S6)

Guayaquil Woodpecker Campephilus gayaquilensis Buenaventura reserve, El Oro province, Ecuador. Female. (S5)		Guayaquil Woodpecker Campephilus gayaquilensis Quebrada Limon, Lambayeque department, Peru. Female. A shot showing the pattern on the underparts. (D2)

Cream-backed Woodpecker Campephilus leucopogon Palomitas, Salta province, Argentina. Female. A Chaco woodland specialist. (S3)		Cream-backed Woodpecker Campephilus leucopogon Palomitas, Salta province, Argentina. Male. The mate of the previous bird. (S3)

Magellanic Woodpecker Campephilus magellanicus Reserva Nacional Altos de Lircay, Region VII, Chile. Male. A fantastic bird, and depending on the fate of the Ivory-bill, could be the largest extant woodpecker in the New World. It inhabits the southernmost forests of South America. (S5)

Website design and all photos copyright Nick Athanas
For questions, comments, or photograph licensing info, please email