Bird Guide

Checkered Woodpecker vs Little Woodpecker

Checkered Woodpecker (Veniliornis mixtus)

Checkered Woodpecker

Veniliornis mixtus

Small29 gWoodland

The checkered woodpecker is about 14 cm (5.5 in) long and weighs 30 to 37 g (1.1 to 1.3 oz). Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Adults of both sexes of the nominate subspecies V. m. mixtus have a blackish-brown forehead and crown, a blackish-brown hindneck, and a generally white face with a dark brown stripe back from the eye and a thin dark brown malar stripe. Males have some white or buffish white streaks on the crown and a red or orange-red nape. The female's nape is black where the male's is red and its crown is solid black.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
Little Woodpecker (Veniliornis passerinus)

Little Woodpecker

Veniliornis passerinus

Small32 gForest

The little woodpecker is about 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) long and weighs 24 to 37 g (0.85 to 1.3 oz). Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Males of the nominate subspecies passerinus have a red forehead, crown, and nape with dark feather bases showing through. The female is grayish olive-brown with indistinct white spots where the male is red. Adults of both sexes have a mostly dark brownish-olive face with pale barring on the chin and throat. Their upperparts are mostly bronzy olive-green with red feather tips, and pale barring on the rump.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Little Woodpecker
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Zamora-Chinchipe: 'Cabañas Yankuam' 2 km S Las Orchideas, Nangaritza Valley, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: (c) Renato Bandeira, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Renato Bandeira · cc-by

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Checkered Woodpecker and Little Woodpecker.