Golden fronted woodpecker

Appearance

The golden-fronted woodpecker is 22 to 26 cm long and weighs 65 to 102 g. Males and females have the same plumage except for the pattern on their heads. Adult males have a red crown and a golden orange to yellow nape with a gap between them; females have a grayish crown and a paler yellow nape. On adults of both sexes the rest of the head is various shades of gray. Their upperparts are mostly barred black and white, with white uppertail coverts that have a few black spots. Their flight feathers are black with variable amounts of white on the primaries. Their tail is mostly black with variable amounts of white on the outermost three pairs of feathers. Their underparts are smoke gray to drab gray with light blackish bars on the flanks and undertail coverts and a yellow patch on the belly. Their iris is deep red to reddish brown, their bill is black to grayish black, and their legs and feet are grayish green to greenish gray. Juveniles are duller overall than adults, with little or no orange on the nape, indistinct barring on the upperparts, and fine dusky streaks on the underparts. Males have a small red crown patch and females just a few red feathers there.

Distribution

The golden-fronted woodpecker is found from southwestern Oklahoma through central Texas onto the Mexican Plateau as far as Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, and Hidalgo. It is a casual visitor to New Mexico and has strayed further north and east. It inhabits both mesic and xeric landscapes. It favors the latter, which include mesquite brushlands and riparian woodlands. It also frequents urban parks and suburban areas....hieroglyph snipped...

Status

The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so has not assessed the golden-fronted woodpecker separately from Velasquez's woodpecker. The golden-fronted woodpecker "sensu lato" is considered to be of Least Concern, with a stable population. It is considered common in much of Texas; population data from Mexico is sparse. It "appears to adjust well to human-altered environments, occupying parks and urban areas."

Habitat

The golden-fronted woodpecker is found from southwestern Oklahoma through central Texas onto the Mexican Plateau as far as Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, and Hidalgo. It is a casual visitor to New Mexico and has strayed further north and east. It inhabits both mesic and xeric landscapes. It favors the latter, which include mesquite brushlands and riparian woodlands. It also frequents urban parks and suburban areas....hieroglyph snipped...

Reproduction

The golden-fronted woodpecker usually remains paired year-round, and is territorial even outside the nesting season. In Texas it breeds between March and July, and often produces two broods per year. Both sexes excavate the nest cavity in the trunk or limb of a tree, both live and dead. It also sometimes uses utility poles, fence posts, and nest boxes. The cavity is usually between 2 and 9 m above the ground. Most clutches are of four or five eggs, and both sexes incubate. The incubation period is 12 to 14 days and fledging occurs about 30 days after hatch.

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Songs and calls

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Food

The golden-fronted woodpecker's diet is adult and larval arthropods, some aerial insects, much fruit and nuts, and corn. It has been observed predating other birds' eggs. The species forages mainly in trees, especially on major limbs and typically below 6 m. It also forages on open or grassy ground but seldom under brush. It takes its food by gleaning, pecking, probing, and least frequently by aerial flycatching.