Smoky-brown woodpecker

Appearance

Adult woodpeckers are 15–17 cm in height and weigh about 31–50 g. They are characteristically dark brown. The adult male has gray, red-tipped nape feathers and tawny scapular feathers. The adult female has brown-tipped nape feathers, and juvenile woodpeckers have noticeably duller feathers.

Naming

Some taxonomic authorities, including the American Ornithological Society, continue to place this species in the genus "Picoides".

Behavior

The smoky-brown woodpecker seems to prefer smaller tree trunks to larger ones. Their diet favors small beetles and larvae. "Leuconotopicus fumigatus" often travels in pairs or in family groups, sometimes with other species. They nest from February to May, making their nest 1.5–7.6 m off the forest floor. They have a clutch size of 4 eggs.

Habitat

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest. "P. f. fumigatus" is found mostly in the northern Amazon region. "P. f. obscuratus" is found from northwest Peru to northwest Argentina. "P. f. oleagineus" is found in eastern Mexico. "V. f. reichenbachi" is found in northern South America. And "P. f. sanguinolentus" is found throughout Central America