Friday, April 14, 2023

Red-Crowned Woodpecker

The red-crowned woodpecker is a beautiful small woodpecker we saw quite a few times in Colombia, both at Tinamu Reserve, where all the photos I kept were taken, and at Montezuma Rainforest Lodge. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and Tobago. 
Red-crowned woodpecker range - from Wikipedia.
We were able to see so many because it eats fruits and berries as part of its diet, so it would come to the feeders for bananas placed their to attract birds. 
A male.

A female, lacking the red crown. The yellowish on the throat also appears to be less extensive and bright. 
Males have a yellow to white forehead, a red crown, an orange-red nape and hindneck. Females differ, lacking the red crown: theirs is buff to white instead. Both males and females have what Wikipedia describes as gray-buff checks, chin and throat, although my photos are more yellowish. The mantle, back and flight feathers are barred black and white and the rump and uppertail coverts are white. The tail is black with white on the central and outermost tail feathers. The bill is black, the iris is light, almost reddish, brown, the bare skin around the eye is a gray-brown and the legs and feet are gray. 
Male

This and next photo are female.



1 comment:

  1. One of those birds where the male is SO much brighter and more beautiful than the female. Not fair.

    ReplyDelete