Puerto Rican Woodpecker

Overview

The Puerto Rican woodpecker (Melanerpes portoricensis) is the only woodpecker endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico and is the only resident species of the family Picidae on the island. It is common on the main island but rare on Vieques.

Identification

• Black body with a bright red throat and breast, and a white patch running across the head from eye to eye.
• Flanks and lower body display a light tangerine coloration.
• Males are slightly larger than females with more brightly colored plumage, and exhibit a substantial (~18%) difference in bill length.
• Average weight is 56.0 grams with a body length between 23 and 27 centimetres.

Habitat

Found mainly in forests, coffee plantations, mangroves, palm tree groves, parks, and gardens throughout Puerto Rico. It is rare on the island of Vieques and once inhabited St. Croix during the Pleistocene epoch.

Diet

The bird forages by using its bill to drill holes in trunks to search for prey, primarily consuming insects such as ants and beetle larvae. Fruits compose approximately one-quarter of its diet, while it rarely eats scorpions, geckos, and coquís.

Did you know?

Males carve nesting cavities that are subsequently used by other Puerto Rican endemic birds, including the Puerto Rican flycatcher and the yellow-shouldered blackbird.