White Woodpecker
Melanerpes candidus
Strikingly-plumaged medium-sized woodpecker, mostly white with dark wings and back contrasting with yellow goggles with a dark eye stripe. Males have a yellowish nape. Often seen in small groups foraging in open areas, savannas, and dry forests. Makes a series of ternlike “krreee, krreeee” calls.
Identification
This woodpecker grows to a length of 24 to 29 cm (9.4 to 11.4 in) and weighs around 108 g (3.8 oz), with a range of 98 to 131 g (3.5 to 4.6 oz). It is one of the largest Melanerpes woodpeckers along with the Jamaican woodpecker and Lewis' woodpecker. The mantle, back, wings and tail of the adult are black, the flight feathers being brownish-black above and the underside of the wings being greyish-black. The crown, face, rump and underparts are white, sometimes with some buff shading. The male has some yellowing of the breast and nape which the female lacks, and both sexes have a certain amount of yellow on the belly. A narrow black stripe runs from behind the eye to the nape. There is a bare ring of yellow skin around the eye which has a yellowish iris. The beak is long and grey, paler near the base, and the legs are grey. Juveniles are browner and less glossy than the adults, with the pale areas being buff rather than white. The orbital ring on juveniles is grey rather than yellow, and both sexes may have some yellow on the nape.
Taxonomy
The species was first described as Melanerpes candidus in 1796 by the French naturalist Bernhard Christian Otto, the type locality being Cayenne. It is sometimes placed in its own genus Leuconerpes, but shows many similarities in morphology to Melanerpes. No subspecies are known (monotypic).
- Scientific name
- Melanerpes candidus
- Authority
- (Otto, 1796)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Melanerpes
Range and habitat
The white woodpecker has a large distribution in South America to the east of the Andes. Its range extends from Suriname and French Guiana, through much of Brazil to southeastern Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina. It is found at altitudes of up to about 2,000 m (6,600 ft), and is non-migratory, but prone to making short distance movements. Its habitat is forest edges, open dry woodland, wooded savannah, scrubland with scattered trees, plantations, orchards, parkland and mangroves. It is opportunistic and adaptable, being seen in city suburbs, and expanding its range into areas of felled timber.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Groups of up to ten white woodpeckers are sometimes seen flying with floppy wing-beats in procession. The diet is varied and includes fruits, berries and seeds, the bird being a significant disperser of some species of seed. It forages in noisy family groups and also raids wild bee and wasp nests, feeding on the adult insects, larvae and honey. It breeds between September and November. It may sometimes nest communally, but very little is known of its breeding habits.
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Southern House Wren
Troglodytes musculus
Small brownish wren, rather plain overall, with dark barring on the wings and tail. Lacks white eyebrow. Occurs in a variety of open or semiopen habitats from sea level to treeline and even higher, including parks, rural farmland, and woodland edge with thick tangles. Often perches conspicuously when singing, but otherwise fairly secretive. Listen for bubbly song of chatters and trills, and harsh scolding calls.
Acre Antshrike
Thamnophilus divisorius
Secretive, rare medium-sized antshrike of the dense forests of the Cordillera Divisor of remote western Brazil and eastern Peru. Males are dark gray with a bluish tint to the back and upperparts, while females are bluish-gray above and brownish-orange below. Inhabits the lower levels of forests, where it is more often heard than seen; voice is a fast series of notes increasing in speed before finishing with a final higher note.
Obscure Honeyeater
Caligavis obscura
An uncommon, medium-sized honeyeater of foothill forest midstory. Olive-colored with a bright-yellow face, a black line below the eye, starting from the bill and ending in a white ear spot. Most similar to Black-throated Honeyeater but little if any overlap in elevation. Obscure Honeyeater is smaller and has gray rather than orange legs. Song, a series of usually 5 “chip” notes, first rising, then falling.
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