A Blond-headed Bird With A Swept Back Hairdo Creating A Wilderness Symphony!

This bird’s distinguishing features include a yellow-crested head that stands out against a predominantly black body, which varies with yellow spots creating a scaled pattern.

Meet the Blond-headed Woodpecker:

Physical Description: The Blonde-crested Woodpecker (Celeus flavescens) is a bird species belonging to the Picidae family measuring approximately 27 to 30 cm (11 to 12 in) in length, the nominate subspecies weighs between 110 to 165 g (3.9 to 5.8 oz). Males from both subspecies showcase a vibrant wide red malar area and cheek, sometimes extending around the eye and occasionally onto the lower forehead. Often, the neck’s sides exhibit black streaks. Black mantle and upper back contrast with a buffish white to pale yellow lower back, rump, and upper tail coverts, which occasionally include black bars.

Females, on the other hand, display black streaks in place of red on the malar and cheek, devoid of red elsewhere.

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In the nominate subspecies, both adult males and females feature a pale creamy buff to yellowish white head, including a long, pointed crest, chin, and throat.

Their flight feathers showcase black with narrow white bars and some with white tips. Wing coverts exhibit barred black and white patterns, while tail feathers display black hues with whitish edges or bars on the outermost pair. Their lower neck and underparts are black, with faint pale barring on the flanks and undertail coverts. Pale yellow to buffish thighs are adorned with black spots or streaks. Adults possess a bill that is either horn-colored or occasionally blue-gray to black with a lighter mandible, red or red-brown iris, and blue-gray legs. Juveniles resemble adults but appear duller and have more facial black markings.

This bird is native to Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Distribution and Habitat: This species inhabits humid forests’ interior and edges, gallery forests, savannas, caatinga, and orchards.

Movement: Throughout its range, the Blonde-crested Woodpecker remains a year-round resident.

Diet: Their diet primarily consists of arboreal ants, carpenter ants, termites, and, to a lesser but notable extent, fruits and berries. They typically forage at middle to canopy levels in forests, occasionally ground foraging, employing techniques like gleaning, probing, pecking, and hammering. They often feed in pairs or small groups, serving as vital pollinators and seed dispersers.

Breeding: Breeding for the Blonde-crested Woodpecker occurs between April and June in eastern Brazil and between October and November in Argentina. They excavate nest cavities in trees or arboreal ant nests, but further details about their breeding biology remain unknown.

Conservation Status: The IUCN has categorized the Blonde-crested Woodpecker as Least Concern. Although it boasts a large range, its population size remains unknown, speculated to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified, and it is generally considered not uncommon, locally fairly common, and is present in several protected areas.

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