GOLDEN-FRONTED WOODPECKER GALLERY
(Melanerpes aurifrons)
eBird offers this description of the Golden-fronted Woodpecker: Black-and-white barring on the back and a plain buffy breast and face. Note the yellow-orange nape. Adult males have red crowns. In flight, look for the white rump. Found in open woodlands and arid scrub and brushlands from Texas to Nicaragua. Visits feeders, especially for oranges and jelly. Nests in cavities.
I saw my first Golden-fronted Woodpecker while sitting out front under my airport on the afternoon of May 3, 2020. While scanning the next door neighbors pecan trees, I spotted a Golden-fronted Woodpeck and was able to take a few pictures before he disappeared. The very next day I saw him again and was able to get some better pictures. I hope to enjoy him many more times, as he is a really beautiful bird!
“Cool Facts” About the Golden-fronted Woodpecker From All About Birds…
- The Golden-fronted Woodpecker is composed of four subspecies that differ in size, amount of barring on the tail, and the color of the nape, nasal tufts, and belly. Whereas the nape of the form found in Texas and most of Mexico is yellow to orange, it is red on the Yucatan Peninsula and orange farther south. The four forms were formerly considered different species.
- The Golden-fronted Woodpecker consumes about as much fruit and nuts as it does insects. In summer in Texas, the faces of some woodpeckers become stained purple from eating fruit of the prickly pear cactus.
- The oldest recorded Golden-fronted Woodpecker was a male, and at least 5 years, 11 months old when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Texas.