Smoky-brown Woodpecker

Overview

The smoky-brown woodpecker (Dryobates fumigatus) is a bird species in the woodpecker family Picidae. It is a year-round resident found across a wide range of Central and South American countries.

Identification

• Approximately 18 cm long, with a longish blackish beak that has a paler lower mandible and deep brown to red-brown irises.
• Males feature a dull red crown, while females have a dull red forehead; both sexes have olive-brown upperparts with a red tinge on the shoulders.
• Underparts are olive-brown, sometimes paler on the belly with faint darker bars.
• Vocalisations include a high-pitched 'keer-keer-keer' and hard, rolling 'zur-zur-zur' calls, accompanied by very rapid, protracted drumming.

Habitat

Found in a wide variety of wooded landscapes including humid and wet forests, cloudforests, dry montane woodlands, and coffee plantations. The species inhabits elevations ranging from near sea level to approximately 2,800 m, depending on the specific geographic region.

Diet

Forages singly, in pairs, family groups, or mixed-species flocks, primarily in the middle and low levels of the forest. Its diet consists mainly of adult and larval wood-boring beetles, supplemented by small amounts of fruit, located through pecking, hammering, and occasionally probing.

Did you know?

Both sexes participate in excavating nest cavities, which are typically located in dead branches, trunks, or even fence posts at heights between 1.5 and 8 m above the ground.