Yellow-throated Woodpecker - BirdForum Opus

Subspecies erythropis
Photo © by amaizlish
Baia Paranagua, PR, Brazil, February 2014

Piculus flavigula

Identification

19–20 cm (7½-7¾ in)

• Yellow head,
• Yellowish-green upperparts
• White underparts with black scaling
  

Male: has a red crown and a red malar stripe
Female: red only on the nape

Variations

Male of the subspecies found in eastern Brazil, P. f. erythropis has an entirely red throat, not just a red malar stripe.

Distribution

Photo © by BirdsPeru
Allpahuayo - Mishana Reserve near Iquitos, Peru

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

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• .P. f. flavigula:

• Extreme eastern Colombia to Venezuela, the Guianas, northern Amazonian Brazil

• .P. f. magnus:

• South East Colombia to northern Bolivia and north-eastern Brazil

• .P. f. erythropis :

• Brazil

Habitat

Tall humid terra firme forest and seasonally flooded varzea forest.

Behaviour

It pecks and hammers at trunks and branches.

Diet

Their diet consists mostly of ants.

Breeding

They nest in tree holes.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2018)
4. Arthur Grosset

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Yellow-throated Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Yellow-throated_Woodpecker

External Links

Search for photos of Yellow-throated Woodpecker in the gallery