How to Identify aGolden-fronted Woodpecker
Melanerpes aurifrons · 8.7–10.2 in (22–26 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Black-and-white barred back, pale gray-buff head and underparts, a golden-orange nape, gold above the bill, and a small red crown patch.
Female
Like the male but with no red crown patch.
Male photo: Charles J. Sharp / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Second photo: Andy Morffew from Itchen Abbas, Hampshire, UK / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0
Field marks
- Golden-orange nape separated from a red crown patch
- Yellow-gold wash above the bill
- Crisply zebra-barred back
- White rump and wing patches in flight
Similar species
What it sounds like
A rolling churr and a rattling series, harsher than a Red-bellied Woodpecker’s.
Behaviour that gives it away
Nests and roosts in mesquite, utility poles and fence posts across the Texas brush country.
Habitat & range
Mesquite brushland, riparian woods and towns in Texas and Oklahoma.
When you'll see it
Present all year in southwestern and central North America.
What it eats
Insects, acorns, corn, cactus fruit and berries.
Did you know?
Its range is centred so firmly on Texas that it is sometimes called the Texas woodpecker.
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