Chestnut-colored Woodpecker
Where and when to see the Chestnut-colored Woodpecker
DraftOn the Yucatán Peninsula
It lives in medium and tall forest, at forest edges and in second growth, sometimes in mangroves. Listen for its nasal call and look for a flash of chestnut on trunks at mid height.
Where it’s reported most
- MuyilFelipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo
- KohunlichOthón P. Blanco, Quintana Roo
- Becán and XpujilCalakmul, Campeche
- CalakmulCalakmul, Campeche
When
All year · most reports Jun–Jul
Most reports from June to July.
Reports relative to effort
- January: 61%
- February: 64%
- March: 69%
- April: 49%
- May: 51%
- June: 94%
- July: 100%
- August: 62%
- September: 79%
- October: 44%
- November: 43%
- December: 69%
Data: eBird and other datasets via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), 2015–2026 · Base map: Natural Earth
Keeps to the middle and upper levels of tall, humid selva, feeding mostly on ants and termites. It depends on mature forest and becomes scarce where the big trees are cut.
- Identification
- A medium-sized woodpecker, bright chestnut all over, with a pale, shaggy blond crest, black V-shaped marks on the body and a pale yellow bill. Males have a big red patch on the cheek.
- Voice
- A falling “skeew” followed by a nasal “keh, keh, keh”. It drums in short, rapid, hollow rolls.
What the photo doesn’t show
DraftFarthest north of its kind
It belongs to Celeus, a group of chestnut, crested woodpeckers of tropical America, and it reaches farther north than any of its relatives, into southern Mexico. 1
An ant eater
It feeds mostly on ants and termites, pecking into their tunnels and prying off bark, and also eats fruit such as Cecropia (guarumbo). 1,2
It sounds like a toy
One of its calls is a nasal “peahh” that sounds like a squeeze toy. Listening is often the best way to find it, because it feeds quietly in the middle levels of the forest. 2,3
A loner, except at the nest
It usually forages alone, sometimes in pairs. To nest, both male and female dig the cavity, most often in a tree, though very few active nests have been described. 2
Sources
- Birds of the World (Cornell Lab): Chestnut-colored Woodpecker (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia: Chestnut-colored woodpecker (opens in a new tab)
- eBird: Chestnut-colored Woodpecker (opens in a new tab)
- IUCN Red List category, via GBIF: Celeus castaneus (opens in a new tab)
- DOF, 14/11/2019: NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, Anexo III (opens in a new tab)
Map and months: 591 records from 2015–2026 from eBird, iNaturalist, and others, via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), in 0.1° squares (about 10 km). eBird: doi.org/10.15468/aomfnb.
Months: the species’ records ÷ all bird records that month, scaled to the busiest month. It allows for birding effort; it is not the chance of seeing it. A blank square: few or no reports, not necessarily absent.
Tell us where, or ask how to find one.
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