From Opus

Melanerpes hoffmannii

Male
Photo by jtwood
Location: Costa Rica, November 2008

[edit] Identification

18 cm long and weighs 68g. Upperparts and wings barred black and white, a white rump. The underparts are pale buff-grey with a yellow central belly patch. The male has a red crown, white forehead and yellow nape. The female has a white crown and forehead and yellow nape. Young birds are duller, have less white above and less yellow on the belly.

Female
Photo by DiggitalD
Location: Alajuela, Costa Rica

[edit] Distribution

Pacific slope of s Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

[edit] Taxonomy

This species is monotypic¹

[edit] Habitat

Deciduous open woodland.

[edit] Behaviour

It nests in an unlined hole up to 9 m high in a dead tree. The clutch is two or three glossy white eggs, incubated by both sexes. Diet includes insects, often extracted from decaying wood, and fruit and nectar.

[edit] References

1. Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019

[edit] External Links