Cream-colored Woodpecker - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Leif G
Sani Lodge, Ecuador, November 2003

Celeus flavus

Identification

24–26 cm (9½-10¼ in)

• Creamy-yellow head, back and underparts
• Erect yellow crest
• Rufous wings
• Black tail
• Long cream bill
• Dark iris
  

Male: red moustachial stripe
There is a wide variation in this colouring which does not necessarily indicate a particular sub-species.

Distribution

Female
Photo © by Luis R
Orinoco Delta River, Delta Amacuro State, Venezuela, 4 January 2009

South America: found in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies^[1]

• C. f. flavus:

• Eastern Colombia to Venezuela, the Guianas, western Brazil and northern Bolivia

• C. f. peruvianus:

• Tropical eastern Peru

• C. f. subflavus:

• Eastern Brazil (Alagoas; Bahia to Espírito Santo)

• C. f. tectricialis:

• North-eastern Brazil (Maranhão)

Habitat

Humid varzea and swamp forests often near water.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of ants and termites with the addition of some fruit and seeds

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Arthur Grosset
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved September 2016)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Cream-colored Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Cream-colored_Woodpecker

External Links

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