Golden-cheeked Woodpecker Melanerpes chrysogenys Scientific name definitions

Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers are found only in Mexico and are resident there year-round. They live in arid or semi-humid forests, plantations, and in partially open areas with patches of trees. Most often these woodpeckers reside in the middle and upper levels of the forest where they search for beetles, ants, fruits, and seeds by themselves or in pairs. The black eye patch and yellow on the cheek and chin help identify the Golden-cheeked Woodpecker in the field.

19–22 cm; 55–88 g. Male has whitish forehead with golden-yellow at base of bill, red crown (usually becoming more golden-orange on nape), bright yellow-gold hindneck; broad black area encircling eye; deep golden-yellow band from lower lores to ear-coverts, broad buffish to yellow-buff area below this; golden-buff chin and throat; black upperparts barred white, rump and uppertail-coverts more black-barred white; black wing-coverts with large white spots and tips; black secondaries and tertials barred white; black primaries thinly edged and tipped white (when fresh), bases barred white and forming patch about half-way along; uppertail black, central feather pair broadly barred white, third pair sometimes with a few bars, fourth with half-bars, outer pair fully white-barred; grey-brown to brownish-buff underparts strongly washed olive-yellow (yellowish feather tips), central belly with variably sized yellowish-orange patch, lower parts becoming paler and greyer, flanks to undertail-coverts with dark bars; underwing brown, barred white, white patch on primaries; longish bill barely chisel-tipped, culmen curved, rather broad across nostrils, black; iris reddish to orange-brown, orbital skin blackish; legs green-grey. Female is slightly shorter-billed than male, has crown greyish-buff, often with some darker feathers, nape orange-red. Juvenile is browner or greyer above with less contrasting bars, paler and greyer below with strong yellow suffusion, obscure bars in lower regions, both sexes with red on crown, female less red and often much black in crown. Race flavinuchus is slightly larger and duller, greyer below, has less yellow on face, more yellow instead of red on hindneck .

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Insects, including adults and larvae of beetles, ants; also various fruits and seeds. Forages singly and in pairs, at middle and upper levels, on trees. Feeding techniques are gleaning, probing and pecking. No further details available.

Many churring calls and short series of notes, e.g. nasal “ki-di-dik”, more explosive than call of M. uropygialis; loud, nasal “cheek-oo, cheek-oo, cheek-oo, keh-i-heh-ek”, softer “keh-i-heh” or “kuh-uh-uh”.

May–Jul. Nest-hole in tree or cactus. Clutch size and other aspects of breeding undescribed.