Sunday, 7 December 2025

Red-crowned Woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Melanerpes ("black creeper") rubricapillus ("red-haired")  

Male Red-crowned Woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus) at Tarcoles, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: Melanerpes rubricapillus rubricapillus
Weight: 40-65g  /  Length: 16-18.5cm  /  Wingspan: cm
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A bird seen right on the very brink of it's range, in Costa Rica being found on the West coast as far as Tarcoles where I saw it.  A more generalist woodpecker species which takes fruit as well as insects found on the surface but with a lesser focus on the namesake wood pecking than many other species. In Costa Rica it has a hybrid zone with Hoffman's Woodpecker to which it is closely related.  

Related Species: 
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Melanerpes
SUBSPECIES: M. r. rubricapillus, M. r. subfusculus, M. r. seductus, M. r. parauanae
 
- Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Carpintero Habado

Common species on West Coast up to Tarcoles
- COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at Tarcoles

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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