From Opus

Male
Photo by bobmooseSan Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Melanerpes uropygialis

[edit] Identification

Length 20-25cm, wingspan 38-46cm
Light brown breast and head, red crown on adult male, lacking in female. This is the only barred-back woodpecker in its range.

[edit] Similar Species

Very similar in appearance to Golden-fronted Woodpecker, but distinguished by barred tail and range.

[edit] Distribution

A woodpecker primarily of the Sonoran desert. SE California, where numbers are decreasing; southern Arizona southward into western Mexico, including Baja California.

[edit] Taxonomy

Female
Photo by UncleGus_24
Green Valley, Arizona, USA, March 2012

[edit] Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized:^[1]

• M. u. uropygialis - sw US to central Mexico
• M. u. cardonensis - N. Baja California
• M. u. brewsteri - S. Baja California

[edit] Habitat

Solitary nester in holes it drills in mesquite trees and saguaro cacti.

[edit] Behaviour

Noisy and conspicious, with loud abrasive call.

[edit] Diet

Primarily insectivorous; will visit feeders (meat, suet, fruit).

[edit] References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist

[edit] External Links