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Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Melanerpes aurifrons

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26.1769, -98.3833

Field Notes

Description:

This medium-sized woodpecker has a black and white striped pattern above and gray below. There are red patches on the top of the head (male) and nape of neck. A gold patch is located at the base of the bill. The bill itself is black.

Habitat:

Open to semi-open forests and scrubland in Texas and extending down to Central America.

Notes:

These woodpeckers consume not just insects but also fruit when it is available.

Reference Links:

Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Life History, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornit…

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (5)
Gordon Dietzman
LandmarkExpert, It's an easy mistake to make. They have a very similar silhouette and have a similar appearance. But I appreciate you making the suggestion because it's sometimes good to review IDs. I once misidentified a yellow-crowned night-heron as a black-crowned night-heron and someone spotted my mistake. Those two immatures look a lot a like and I'm glad someone pointed it out.
Caleb Steindel
beautiful bird, gordon. i have just removed my suggestion because after further examination, i have found that it is not a flicker as i thought.
Gordon Dietzman
Thanks for the comments. They are pretty birds, aren't they. LandmarkExpert, They could be ID'd as a flickers, but this is not a flicker. A northern flicker has a spotted breast and doesn't have the gold at the base of the top bill. Compare: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_flicker/id and http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Golden-fronted_Woodpecker/id

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PublishedMay 8, 2013

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