- Celeus loricatus
Identification
19-23 cm
Crown, sides of head and upperside including wings are cinnamon-rufous with back and wings showing narrower black, wavy barring.
Tail is barred in black and pale buff. Underside is mostly buff with rufous mixed in towards the upper breast and overall strongly marked with black bars.
Male has throat to malar red or red-black, female has entire head, including throat, uniform rufous.
Variation
Relatively strong variation: subspecies diversus is larger and darker than mentalis while some individuals of innotatus can completely lack barring both above and below.
Distribution
Central and South America
Central America: Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama
South America: Colombia and Ecuador; mostly west of the Andes but in Colombia also in the valleys between the parts of Andes.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Photo © by Birdingcraft
Near El Zota Research Station, Costa Rica, October 25, 2012
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- C. l. diversus:
- C. l. mentalis:
- C. l. loricatus:
- C. l. innotatus:
- Northern Colombia
Habitat
Lowland to foothill moist forest where utilizing internal areas as well as edges, clearings and even older second growth.
Behaviour
Diet
Wide variety of food utilized, including ants, termites, and similar but also fruit including bananas. Seems to prefer canopy but comes lower sometimes (e.g., at edges and clearings). Not a frequent follower of mixed species flocks.
Breeding
Utilizes a freshly excavated hole for nest site, with both adults participating in the work. Not much else known.
Vocalisation
Described as having 3-5 notes song with a ringing quality, getting less strong in both pitch and amplitude. Drumming described as short and slow.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Ridgely, R.S., & P.J. Greenfield (2001). "The Birds of Ecuador - Field Guide". Comstock/Cornell Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7
- Ridgely & Gwynne 1989. Birds of Panama. Princeton Paperbacks. ISBN 0691025126
- Winkler, H. and D. A. Christie (2020). Cinnamon Woodpecker (Celeus loricatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cinwoo1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Cinnamon Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Cinnamon_Woodpecker
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
