- Melanerpes cruentatus
Identification
19 cm (7½ in); two colour morphs
- Broad pale eyering
- Yellow tuft of feathers on the back of the head
- Black overall plumage
- White rump
- Black and white barred flanks
- Red belly
- Yellow-tufted morph has a yellow line from eye to nape
- Black-headed form lacks this yellow line
Male has a red crown
Distribution
Female
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Between Estadio municipal de Calzada and Morros de Calzada, Amazonas Department, Peru, November 2013
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Between Estadio municipal de Calzada and Morros de Calzada, Amazonas Department, Peru, November 2013
Tropical South America; from East Colombia to the Guianas, eastern Bolivia, north-eastern Brazil and Mato Grosso.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Rainforests. Also secondary growth and forest edges and isolated trees in clearings.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists of insects, particularly ants and also spiders. They also eat a lot of fruit and berries.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Aug 2018)
- Neotropical Birds
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Yellow-tufted Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow-tufted_Woodpecker
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
