Bird Guide

Cream-backed Woodpecker vs Magellanic Woodpecker

Cream-backed Woodpecker (Campephilus leucopogon)

Cream-backed Woodpecker

Campephilus leucopogon

Medium249 gWoodland

The cream-backed woodpecker is 28 to 30 cm (11 to 12 in) long and weighs 203 to 281 g (7.2 to 9.9 oz). Adult males have a crest; their head, crest, and neck are entirely red but for a small black and white spot on the ear coverts. Adult females have a longer crest than males and do not have the covert spot. They have a creamy band from the bill to the ear coverts with black above it that surrounds the eye and extends along the front of the crest, and also a thinner black line below the creamy band. The rest of their head is red and their neck is black.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
Magellanic Woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus)

Magellanic Woodpecker

Campephilus magellanicus

Large324 gWoodland

The Magellanic woodpecker is 36 to 45 cm (14 to 18 in) in length. Males of this species weigh 312–369 g (11.0–13.0 oz), and females weigh 276–312 g (9.7–11.0 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 20.5 to 23 cm (8.1 to 9.1 in), the tail is 13.9 to 16.8 cm (5.5 to 6.6 in), the bill is 4.3 to 6 cm (1.7 to 2.4 in), and the tarsus is 3.3 to 3.9 cm (1.3 to 1.5 in). It is the largest South American woodpecker and one of the largest woodpeckers in the world.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Hugo Hulsberg · CC0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Cream-backed Woodpecker and Magellanic Woodpecker.