Bird Guide

West Indian Woodpecker vs White-fronted Woodpecker

West Indian Woodpecker (Melanerpes superciliaris)

West Indian Woodpecker

Melanerpes superciliaris

Medium77 gForest

The West Indian woodpecker is about 27 to 32 cm (11 to 13 in) long and weighs 48 to 126 g (1.7 to 4.4 oz). Individuals on large islands are larger than those on small islands, and males are generally heavier and slightly larger than females. Males and females have the same plumage except for the pattern on their heads. Adult males of the nominate subspecies M. s. superciliaris have a red crown, nape, and hindneck and a black supercilium that extends to the red. Adult females have a whitish crown and the black supercilium entends around to separate the crown from the red nape.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ekaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) from Saint-Petersburg, Russia · CC BY 2.0
White-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes cactorum)

White-fronted Woodpecker

Melanerpes cactorum

Small35 gWoodland

The adult white-fronted woodpecker is about 17 cm (7 in) in length. The sexes are similar in appearance except for a small patch of red, not always visible, on the crown in males. The crown, nape and upper parts are glossy black, apart from a thin white line running from a white nape patch down the centre of the back. A black mask surrounds the eye and extends to the mantle. The upper side of the wings is bluish-black, boldly barred with white, and the underside is browner. The upper side of the tail is black with white markings and the underside is browner.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Leonel Roget · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: West Indian Woodpecker and White-fronted Woodpecker.