Photo: Alejandro Bayer Tamayo / CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Beautiful Woodpecker
Melanerpes pulcher
Beautiful Woodpecker (Melanerpes pulcher) — Woodpeckers & Toucans of South America.
Found across 2 guides in our atlas — open any for the full checklist, photos and what's around right now.
The Beautiful Woodpecker (Melanerpes pulcher) is a member of the Picidae family found in South America. Adults weigh 52.5 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List (opens in a new tab)Widespread and abundant — not currently at risk.
Where it fits
- Class Aves
- Order Piciformes
- Family Picidae Woodpeckers
- Genus Melanerpes
- Species pulcher
Quick facts
- Weight
- 52.5 g
- Diet
- Invertebrate-eaters
- Family
- Picidae
- Order
- Piciformes
- Habitat
- Woodland
How to identify
Similar birds
Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern
Biology & behaviour
Diet
The Beautiful Woodpecker is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.
Behaviour
A bird of dense forest, it spends much of its time perched in trees and shrubs.
Migration
The Beautiful Woodpecker is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
The Beautiful Woodpecker (Melanerpes pulcher) is a species of bird in the Picidae family, part of the order Piciformes. It is found across South America. Its distribution covers SA nc Colombia.
It is a medium-sized bird. Adults weighs around 52.5 g, with a wing length of about 10.8 cm and a tail of around 5.7 cm.
The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern. That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.
The species has a mapped global range of roughly 48,000 km² — a relatively restricted global range.
Songs & calls
Frequently asked questions
How big is the Beautiful Woodpecker?
The Beautiful Woodpecker is a medium-sized bird that weighs around 52.5 g.
Where does the Beautiful Woodpecker live?
The Beautiful Woodpecker is found across South America with a range covering SA nc Colombia, where it is typically found in wooded and forested habitats.
What family does the Beautiful Woodpecker belong to?
The Beautiful Woodpecker (Melanerpes pulcher) belongs to the Picidae family, in the order Piciformes.
What does the Beautiful Woodpecker eat?
The Beautiful Woodpecker is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.
Does the Beautiful Woodpecker migrate?
The Beautiful Woodpecker is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
Is the Beautiful Woodpecker endangered?
The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.
What sound does the Beautiful Woodpecker make?
1 real field recording of the Beautiful Woodpecker can be played in the Songs & calls section on this page, credited to the recordist who captured it.
How large is the Beautiful Woodpecker's range?
The Beautiful Woodpecker has a mapped global range of about 48,000 km².
Conservation
Every bird benefits from bird-safe windows, native plants, and keeping cats indoors. Small changes at home add up to real protection.
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Guides for this bird
Best Suet Feeders for Woodpeckers
How to choose a suet feeder for woodpeckers — the styles compared, why a tail prop helps, and how to keep starlings off. A decision framework with the woodpecker species in the Birbs encyclopedia.
Meet the Picidae
A field guide to the Picidae family — 239 species in the Birbs encyclopedia, with the best-known members to start with.