Black-cheeked Woodpecker

The Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Melanerpes pucherani, is a vibrant member of the woodpecker family, Picidae, measuring 17 to 19 cm in length and weighing between 42 to 68 grams. This species exhibits sexual dimorphism in the pattern of the head. Males boast a golden yellow forehead with a red crown and nape, while females display a white to buffy white forehead, a black central crown, and a red hindcrown and nape. Both sexes share the characteristic black eye region extending down the neck, complemented by a white line behind the eye.

Identification Tips

To identify the Black-cheeked Woodpecker, look for the distinctive black and white bars on the upper back, white lower back and uppertail coverts with a buff tinge, and black flight feathers with white tips and bars. The tail is black with white bars on the central feathers. The bird's underparts are olive-buff with a gray tinge, featuring buffish white with wavy bars and a central red belly spot. Juveniles are duller with more diffuse barring and a smaller red belly spot.

Habitat

This woodpecker inhabits the interiors and edges of humid to wet evergreen forests, mature secondary forests, abandoned plantations, and clearings with scattered trees. It can also be found in gardens, even those distant from forests.

Distribution

The Black-cheeked Woodpecker is native to southern Mexico, extending south on the Caribbean slope into Costa Rica, and from there on both slopes in Panama, through western Colombia and western Ecuador, slightly reaching into Peru.

Behaviour

As a year-round resident, the Black-cheeked Woodpecker is known for its active and agile foraging behavior, often seen probing, pecking, gleaning, and hawking from the forest's midlevel to the canopy. It typically forages alone or in pairs, occasionally joining mixed-species flocks.

Song & Calls

The most common call of the Black-cheeked Woodpecker is a series of short rattling trills, "churrr, churrr, churrr, churrr" or "cherrr." It also produces a longer rattle, a loud "krrrr," and a higher-pitched "chirriree" or "keereereek." Both sexes drum, though infrequently.

Breeding

Breeding season spans from March to July, with nests excavated in dead trunks or branches, typically 4 to 30 meters above ground. Both sexes share incubation duties for the clutch of two to four eggs, with a 14-day incubation period and fledging occurring about three weeks post-hatch.

Similar Species

The Black-cheeked Woodpecker forms a superspecies with the Golden-naped Woodpecker (M. chrysauchen), and while similar, can be distinguished by its unique head pattern and distribution.

Diet and Feeding

The diet consists of a wide variety of arthropods, including spiders, beetles, ants, and aerial insects, as well as plant material like fruits, berries, seeds, catkins, and nectar from large flowers in trees.

Conservation Status

The IUCN has classified the Black-cheeked Woodpecker as Least Concern, with a very large range and an estimated population of at least 50,000 mature individuals. Although the population is believed to be decreasing, no immediate threats have been identified, and the species is present in several protected areas. However, numbers do decline with extensive deforestation.