Bird Guide

White-fronted Woodpecker vs Yellow-fronted Woodpecker

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
Yellow-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes flavifrons)

Yellow-fronted Woodpecker

Melanerpes flavifrons

Small58 gForest

This colourful woodpecker is about 18 cm (7 in) long. The sexes are similar apart from the male having a red crown and nape, while this region in the female is bluish black. Both have a yellow fore-crown, cheeks, chin, and throat, and a broad, black band running from the base of the beak, across the eye to the nape. The mantle and upper wings are mainly black, and the back and rump are white. The tail is black with some white barring on the outer feathers. The breast is grey or olive, the belly red, and the flanks barred in black and white or black and buff.

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: White-fronted Woodpecker and Yellow-fronted Woodpecker.