Higher classification Melanerpes | Phylum Chordata Family Picidae Scientific name Melanerpes rubricapillus Rank Species | |
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Similar Woodpecker, Bird, Melanerpes, Hoffmann's woodpecker, Golden‑naped woodpecker | ||
Red crowned woodpecker melanerpes rubricapillus mating behaviour at warappa kreek
The red-crowned woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus) is a resident breeding bird from southwestern Costa Rica south to Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and Tobago.
This woodpecker occurs in forests and semi-open woodland and cultivation. It nests in a hole in a dead tree or large cactus. The clutch is two eggs, incubated by both sexes, which fledge after 31–33 days.
Adults are 20.5 cm (8.1 in) long and weigh 48 g (1.7 oz). They have a zebra-barred black and white back and wings and a white rump. The tail is black with some white barring, and the underparts are pale buff-brown.
The male has a red crown patch and nape. The female has a buff crown and duller nape. Immature birds are duller, particularly in the red areas of the head and neck.
Red-crowned woodpeckers feed on insects, but will take fruit and visit nectar feeders.
This common and conspicuous species gives a rattling krrrrrl call and both sexes drum on territory.
