Pale-crested Woodpecker Gallery

Celeus lugubris

The Birds of the World website provides this introductory information about the Pale-crested Woodpecker:  The Pale-crested Woodpecker is restricted to a relatively small area within south-central South America, from eastern Bolivia to the Brazilian Pantanal, and south to Paraguay and northeast Argentina. In the past, this species was sometimes considered conspecific with the Blond-crested Woodpecker (Celeus flavescens). Like many of its congenerics, this is a highly attractive woodpecker, dark gray-brown above and below, the former pale-barred, with a pale yellow rump and head, and a broad red malar stripe in males. Pale-crested Woodpeckers occur in semi-deciduous, dry Chaco, and cerrado woodlands, but are also found in seasonally flooded gallery forests in the Pantanal. The species is generally fairly common throughout its range.

I saw and photographed my first Pale-crested Woodpecker on the morning of August 21, 2023 at Parque Mãe Bonifácia in Cuiabá, Brazil. I had a free day from tour activities, so I went to the park by myself and spent the morning walking the trails and looking for birds.  I always love watching woodpeckers, and this beautiful Pale-crested Woodpecker was no exception! For a more detailed description of the trip that included my sighting of this bird look at this blog post.  Here are some of my photos of this outstanding woodpecker.