Woodpeckers in Yucatan, Mexico (1 Viewer)

rylirk

Well-known member

• Oct 18, 2018

• #1

Hi all!

My fairly awful field guide for Yucatan lists both Golden-Fronted and Yucatan Woodpeckers as common birds in the region, but is very unclear about what the separating ID features are. Would anybody be able to explain to me how to tell them apart? Which woodpeckers do I have here, or are the ID features not visible?

(My guess is Golden-Fronted for the first, Yucatan for the second. Both photos taken in April 2015 in Uxmal)

Hopefully these will be a welcome break from some of the pixelated smudges I have posted recently

 

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Nutcracker

Stop Brexit!

• Oct 18, 2018

• #2

Can't help with the ID, but 'Golden-fronted' in Yucatan (and elsewhere in Mexico away from the far NE) has been split as Velasquez's Woodpecker Melanerpes santacruzi :t:


Edit: the bird in photo 2 has a red spot at the base of the bill; that appears to be a character of some (but not all!) subspecies of Velasquez's Wp, but not of any of Yucatan Wp, so #2 is Velasquez's Wp.

 

Last edited: Oct 18, 2018

Larry Sweetland

Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'

• Oct 18, 2018

• #3

I think you have both spp, but they're actually the other way round to your suggestions. #1 Yucatan and #2 Velasquez's (Golden-fronted).

Velasquez's is larger and longer-billed, but I personally found that to be embarrassingly less obvious in the field as it ought to be. Both spp can have yellow frontal tufts, depending on location, but Yucatan can't have red.

 

A

arodris

Well-known member

• Oct 18, 2018

• #4

Agreed with Larry

 

rylirk

Well-known member

• Oct 18, 2018

• #5

Awesome, didn't know about that split! I've had golden-fronted in the US as well, so I guess that makes Velasquez a new species for me

 

Jeff Hopkins

Just another...observer

• Oct 20, 2018

• #6

Depends on which authority you use. Clements doesn't split Velasquez' as a full species.

 

rylirk

Well-known member

• Oct 20, 2018

• #7

I decided quite early on to use the IOC list, and Velasquez's is good by them

 

njlarsen

Gallery Moderator

Opus Editor

Supporter

• Oct 21, 2018

• #8

Larry Sweetland said:

I think you have both spp, but they're actually the other way round to your suggestions. #1 Yucatan and #2 Velasquez's (Golden-fronted).

Velasquez's is larger and longer-billed, but I personally found that to be embarrassingly less obvious in the field as it ought to be. Both spp can have yellow frontal tufts, depending on location, but Yucatan can't have red.

Click to expand...

Agree