Yucatan woodpecker

The Yucatán woodpecker (Melanerpes pygmaeus) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is sometimes referred to as the red-vented woodpecker.[2] The Yucatán woodpecker is found in Belize, Honduras, and Mexico, and ranges over the entire Yucatán Peninsula. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.

Yucatan woodpecker

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Melanerpes
Species:
M. pygmaeus
Binomial name
Melanerpes pygmaeus
(Ridgway, 1885)
Synonyms

Centurus pygmaeus

Description

This woodpecker measures 17 cm (6.7 in) long. Adults are mainly light gray on the face and underparts; they have black and white barred patterns on their back, wings and tail. Adult males have a red cap going from the eye to the nape; females lack a red cap. There is yellow and/or red around the base of the bill. There may be a yellowish tinge to the belly and a red wash to the vent area.[2][3] It might be confused with the golden-fronted woodpecker which shares part of its range, but that species is larger, has a bigger beak, and the female has more red on the nape of the neck. Another similar species is the red-crowned woodpecker but the range of the two species do not overlap.[4]

Subspecies

The Yucatán woodpecker has 3 subspecies:[5][6]

Distribution and habitat

The Yucatán woodpecker is endemic to Central America. Its range includes the Yucatan Peninsula and adjoining offshore islands, Cozumel Island, Belize, northeastern Guatemala and Guanaja Island off the coast of Honduras. It is mostly found in clearings and near the edges of dry woodland and in coastal scrub, but also sometimes inhabits damper woodland and degraded habitats.[4]

Status

The population of the Yucatan woodpecker is believed to be stable and its range is large. For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".[1]

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References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Melanerpes pygmaeus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Van Perlo, Ber (2006). Birds of Mexico and Central America. Princeton University Press. p. plate 54.5. ISBN 978-0-691-12070-6.
  3. "Red-vented (Yucatan) Woodpecker". www.yucabirds.com/. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  4. Gerard Gorman (19 June 2014). Woodpeckers of the World: The Complete Guide. A&C Black. pp. 136–. ISBN 978-1-4081-4717-7.
  5. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2014. IOC World Bird List (v 4.1). http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
  6. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/


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