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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Hoffmann's Woodpecker (Melanerpes hoffmannii)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Melanerpes ("black creeper") hoffmannii (for naturalist Karl Hoffman)

Hoffmann's Woodpecker (Melanerpes hoffmannii) at Hotel Robledal, Costa Rica - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 62-84g  /  Length: 18-21cm  /  Wingspan: 40-43cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A fairly range restricted species found in a narrow band of North West Costa Rica, West Nicaragua and Southern Honduras where it prefers more open forests and even more disturbed areas like parks and gardens. They are a close relative of the Red-crowned woodepecker and a hybrid zone between the two exists in Costa Rica where the species overlap.
 

Related Species: 
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Melanerpes
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 
- Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA - Spanish - Carpintero de Hoffman ("Hoffman's Carpenter")

A locally common species in North West Costa Rica
- COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at San Jose, Hotel Robledal and Tarcoles

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

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Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Melanerpes Melanerpes ("black creeper") carolinus (of Carolina)

Adult male Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) at McKee Marsh, Illinois - August 2024

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 57-91gg  /  Length: 23-27cm  /  Wingspan: 38-46cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A near endemic of the Continental US whose name is accurate but perhaps oddly chosen as though they do have a reddish belly, this isn't an easy field mark to actually get a decent view of at most angles. A fairly typical woodpecker behaviourally, they nest in tree hollows and feed primarily on invertibrates, and favours deadwood for searching for them.

Related Species:

Order: Piciformes

Family: Picidae

Genus: Melanerpes

SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES - Present throughout most of the Eastern states of the Lower 48
 - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: Seen at McKee Marshes, Illinois

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

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Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Melanerpes ("black creeper") formicivorus ("ant eating")

Adult male Acorn Woodpecker (subspecies M. f. bairdi) at Roy's Redwoods, California - September 2022

Featured Subspecies: Melanerpes formicivorus bairdi
Weight: 65-90g  /  Length: 19-23cm  /  Wingspan: 35-43cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

A distinctive woodpecker species localised in the US to the South West, the acorn woodpecker is most known for its distinctive feeding strategy of creating "granary trees" essentially excavating small holes in trees or non living wood such as utility poles, and wedging in potentially thousands of acorns in a single granary, which is used from year to year. Perhaps even more perculiarly, acorn woodpeckers actually primarily feed on insects, sap and fruit, with the acorns functioning more as an emergency larder.

Related Species:

Order: Piciformes

Family: Picidae

Genus: Melanerpes

SUBSPECIES: M. f. bairdi, M. f. angustifrons, M. f. formicivorus, M. f. albeolus, M. f. lineatus, M. f. striatipectus, M. f. flavigula

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES 
Found in the South West of the Lower 48 

- CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Roy's Redwoods and Berkeley,

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

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