Red-crowned Woodpecker
| Red-crowned Woodpecker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Picidae |
| Genus: | Melanerpes |
| Species: | M. rubricapillus |
| Binomial name | |
| Melanerpes rubricapillus (Cabanis, 1862) | |
The Red-crowned Woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus) is a resident breeding bird from southwestern Costa Rica south to Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and Tobago.
This woodpecker occurs in forests and semi-open woodland and cultivation. It nests in a hole in a dead tree or large cactus. The clutch is two eggs, incubated by both sexes, which fledge after 31–33 days.
Adults are 20.5 cm long and weigh 48g. They have a zebra-barred black and white back and wings and a white rump. The tail is black with some white barring, and the underparts are pale buff-brown.
The male has a red crown patch and nape. The female has a buff crown and duller nape. Immature birds are duller, particularly in the red areas of the head and neck. M. r. terricolor of Tobago is larger and darker-breasted than the nominate race.
Red-crowned Woodpeckers feed on insects, but will take fruit and visit nectar feeders.
This common and conspicuous species gives a rattling krrrrrl call and both sexes drum on territory.
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Melanerpes rubricapillus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- Birds of Venezuela by Hilty, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
- Birds of Trinidad and Tobago by French, ISBN 0-7136-6759-1
External links
Media related to Red-crowned Woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus) at Wikimedia Commons
- Red-crowned Woodpecker videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Stamps (for Venezuela) with RangeMap
- Red-crowned Woodpecker photo gallery VIREO
- Photo-(Close-up) High Res
