Golden-olive Woodpecker

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Photo by gritstone
Photo taken: Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica



Piculus rubiginosus

Colaptes rubiginosus

Identification

• Olive upperparts
• Barred underparts
• Face mostly whitish
• Crown slaty

Distribution

Subtropical Mexico to northwest Brazil.

Bronze-winged Woodpecker, P.r. aeruginosus, formerly a full species, is the most northerly subspecies (northeast Mexico), and most accessible to birders coming from the USA (Texas).

Taxonomy

19 subspecies are recognized. There are data that indicates that this species will be split in the future, but which subspecies goes where is still unclear.

A proposal to transfer this species to genus Colaptes is gaining support but not from quite enough world-wide checklists yet for Opus to follow. The AOU checklist (Aug '09) has placed this species in genus Colaptes.

Photo by petersheikhli
Female
Photograph taken: Tobago

Subspecies^[1]

• P. r. aeruginosus (Bronze-winged):

• Eastern Mexico (Tamaulipas to Veracruz)

Golden-olive Woodpecker

• P. r. yucatanensis:

• Southern Mexico (Oaxaca) to western Panama

• P. r. alleni:

• Santa Marta Mountains (north-eastern Colombia)

• P. r. buenavistae:

• Andean slopes of eastern Colombia and eastern Ecuador

• P. r. tobagensis:

• Tobago

• C. r. trinitatis:

• Trinidad

• P. r. meridensis:

• North-western Venezuela

• P. r. deltanus:

• North-eastern Venezuela (Delta Amacuro)

• P. r. guianae:

• Eastern Venezuela and adjacent Guyana

• P. r. paraquensis:

• Mountains of south-central Venezuela

• P. r. rubiginosus:

• Mountains of north-central and north-eastern Venezuela

• P. r. viridissimus:

• Tepuis of southern Venezuela (high plateau of Auyán-tepui)

• P. r. nigriceps:

• Acari Mountains (southern Guyana and adjacent southern Suriname)

• P. r. gularis:

• Colombia (Central and Western Andes)

• P. r. coloratus:

• Extreme south-eastern Ecuador and north-central Peru

• P. r. chrysogaster:

• Central Peru

• P. r. canipileus:

• Central and south-eastern Bolivia

• P. r. tucumanus:

• Southern Bolivia to north-western Argentina (south to Tucumán)

• P. r. rubripileus:

• Extreme south-western Colombia to western Ecuador and north-western Peru

Habitat

Finca at 1700 meters on the east slope of the West Andes. Canopy and edges of rain forest, next to semi-open areas, shady gardens.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. SACC proposal to transfer this species to genus Colaptes
3. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Golden-olive Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 20 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Golden-olive_Woodpecker

External Links

Search for photos of Golden-olive Woodpecker in the gallery