White-throated Woodpecker

Overview

The white-throated woodpecker (Piculus leucolaemus) is a species of woodpecker found in South America. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, although it is considered poorly known and uncommon.

Identification

• Measures approximately 19 to 20 cm in length and weighs around 69 g.
• Upperparts are bronze-green, while underparts are white with olive barring; the upper breast is yellowish green.
• Males feature red plumage from the forehead to the hindneck and widely on the malar, whereas females have red only on the nape.
• Vocalisation includes a hoarse, hissing 'sraa-sraa-sraa-' or a drawn-out, hissing, lowered 'wheeeeee'.

Habitat

Found from southwestern Colombia through the east side of the Andes in Ecuador and Peru to central Bolivia, with disjunct populations in Amazonian Brazil. It inhabits mature humid terra firme and várzea forests in the lowlands and foothills, reaching elevations of up to 1,400 m in Peru.

Diet

The bird forages alone, in pairs, or in mixed-species flocks at the mid- to upper levels of the forest. It typically feeds by probing and flaking off bark, consuming a diet assumed to include adult and larval insects.

Did you know?

Despite its widespread range, the white-throated woodpecker is considered uncommon and poorly known, with its breeding biology remaining completely unknown.