| Beautiful woodpecker | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Piciformes |
| Family: | Picidae |
| Genus: | Melanerpes |
| Species: | M. pulcher |
| Binomial name | |
| Melanerpes pulcher Sclater, PL, 1870 | |
 | |
| Synonyms | |
Tripsurus pulcher | |
The beautiful woodpecker (Melanerpes pulcher) is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Colombia. [2]
From about the middle of the 20th century until early in the 21st century most taxonomic systems treated the beautiful woodpecker and the golden-naped woodpecker (M. chrysauchen) as conspecific. The combined species and several others were for a time placed in genus Tripsurus. [3] The beautiful woodpecker is monotypic. [2]
The beautiful woodpecker is about 17 to 18 cm (6.7 to 7.1 in) long. The sexes are alike except for their head pattern. Adult males have a whitish forehead, a scarlet crown, and a golden yellow lower nape and hindneck. Adult females have the same whitish forehead and yellow hindneck but a black forecrown and a scarlet hindcrown and nape. Both sexes have black around the eye that extends down the side of the neck. Their lores, cheeks, chin, throat, and breast are white to cream or pale yellow. Their mantle and upper wings are mainly black, with some white barring of the flight feathers, and the back and rump are white, sometimes blotched with black. Their tail is brownish black, the lower breast, belly, and flanks are barred black and white, and there is a red patch on mid-belly. Their iris is very dark brown, the beak is blackish with a paler base, and the legs are gray. Juveniles are duller than adults, their black areas are browner, the underparts' barring is less contrasting, and the belly patch is smaller and more orange. [4]
The beautiful woodpecker is endemic to the valley of the Magdalena River in north central Colombia. It primarily inhabits mature open forests, both dry and humid. It sometimes occurs in plantations, and occasionally in fragmented and secondary forest. In elevation it ranges between 400 and 1,500 m (1,300 and 4,900 ft). [4]
The beautiful woodpecker is a year-round resident throughout its range. [4]
The beautiful woodpecker mostly forages high in the forest, in the canopy and just below it. It feeds on insects including adult and larval wood-boring beetles and winged termites; it sometimes hawks flying insects above the tops of the trees. In addition to insects it feed on much fruit including figs, bananas, and fruits of the Cecropia tree. [4]
The beautiful woodpecker's breeding season is thought to be from February or March to June or July, but nothing else is known about its breeding biology. [4]
The beautiful woodpecker's most common call is "loud, rather squeaky, sometimes more guttural, [and] usually of 3 notes". It also makes "rattling trills" and a "churring call". Both sexes are believed to drum. [4]
The IUCN has assessed the beautiful woodpecker as being of Least Concern. Though it has a limited range and its population size is not known, the latter is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified. [1] The species "appears to be rather scarce and local throughout." [4]
The white woodpecker is a South American species of woodpecker native to the wooded grasslands of Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. It is a bright white bird with black wings and a distinctive small bright yellow eye patch. The IUCN has rated it as a "least-concern species".
The black-cheeked woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Mexico south to Ecuador.
Hoffmann's woodpecker is a resident breeding bird from southern Honduras south to Costa Rica. It is a common species on the Pacific slopes, locally as high as 2,150 m (7,050 ft). It is expanding on the Caribbean slope, aided by deforestation. This is further facilitated by its tendency to wander about outside the breeding season.
The russet-crowned quail-dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Panama and far northwestern Colombia.
The golden-naped woodpecker is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. The species is very closely related to the beautiful woodpecker, which is sometimes treated as the same species. The two species, along with several other species, are sometimes placed in the genus Tripsurus.
The golden-cheeked woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Mexico.
The yellow-fronted woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay and far northeastern Argentina. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. It is a fairly common bird with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified its conservation status as "least concern".
The Yucatan woodpecker is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is sometimes referred to as the red-vented woodpecker. The Yucatan woodpecker is found in Belize and Mexico, and ranges over the entire Yucatán Peninsula. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.
The Jamaican woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Jamaica.
The white-wedged piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay.
The bar-breasted piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.
The plain-breasted piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in the Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.
The ocellated piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru and possibly Argentina.
The greyish piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Colombia.
Lafresnaye's piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
The ochraceous piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to eastern Brazil.
The mottled piculet is a Near Threatened species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
The Orinoco piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, and possibly Venezuela.
The white-bellied piculet is a Vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.
The ochre-collared piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
