Red-rumped Woodpecker vs Scarlet-backed Woodpecker

Red-rumped Woodpecker

Veniliornis kirkii

Small29 gForest

The red-rumped woodpecker is about 15 to 16 cm (5.9 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 30 to 42 g (1.1 to 1.5 oz). Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Males of the nominate subspecies kirkii have a red crown and nape with some dusky brown or dark gray feather tips. The female has a dark brown crown with a tinge of green. Adults of both sexes have mostly olive-brown faces with whitish streaks. Their upperparts are mostly golden olive-brown with some yellow and red feather tips and crimson-red rump and uppertail coverts.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Vertebrate Zoology Curator · CC0

Scarlet-backed Woodpecker

Veniliornis callonotus

Small26 gShrubland

The scarlet-backed woodpecker is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs 23 to 33 g (0.81 to 1.2 oz). Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Adults of both sexes of the nominate subspecies have a generally grayish brown and white face. Males are red from forehead to nape with black tips on many feathers. The female is entirely black there. Both sexes' upperparts are brownish-scarlet. Their flight feathers are dark brown with redder secondaries and tertials. Voice: The scarlet-backed woodpecker's most common call is "a rattle, 1-2 seconds long". It also makes a "sharp 'ki-dik', sometimes in short fast series."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Allan Harris · CC0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Red-rumped Woodpecker and Scarlet-backed Woodpecker.