Beautiful Woodpecker

Melanerpes pulcher

Woodpeckers · Piciformes · Rare

The Beautiful Woodpecker (Melanerpes pulcher) is a rare woodpecker found only in Colombia, weighing about 52 g. The beautiful woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae.

Least ConcernRareEndemicEats invertebratesforestcavity nest52 g

About the Beautiful Woodpecker

The beautiful woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Colombia.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

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.

Where it lives

When to see it

The Beautiful Woodpecker can be seen all year round, with peak activity in May. It is a resident species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Beautiful Woodpecker?
The beautiful woodpecker is about 17 to 18 cm (6.7 to 7.1 in) long. Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Beautiful Woodpecker?
The Beautiful Woodpecker is a small sized bird weighing about 52 g.
Where can you see a Beautiful Woodpecker?
The Beautiful Woodpecker is endemic to Colombia, which is the only country where it occurs.
What birds look similar to a Beautiful Woodpecker?
The Beautiful Woodpecker is most easily confused with the Guadeloupe Woodpecker, the Grey-breasted Woodpecker and the Jamaican Woodpecker.
Is the Beautiful Woodpecker endangered?
The Beautiful Woodpecker is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Beautiful Woodpecker for real

BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.

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