Photo: Laura Gaudette / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Grey-crowned Woodpecker
Colaptes auricularis
Grey-crowned Woodpecker (Colaptes auricularis) — Woodpeckers & Toucans of Central America & Caribbean.
Found across 2 guides in our atlas — open any for the full checklist, photos and what's around right now.
The Grey-crowned Woodpecker (Colaptes auricularis) is a member of the Picidae family found in Central America & Caribbean. Adults weigh 65.4 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 Colaptes
- Species auricularis
Quick facts
- Weight
- 65.4 g
- Diet
- Omnivores
- Family
- Picidae
- Order
- Piciformes
- Habitat
- Woodland
How to identify
Similar birds
Least Concern
Not Evaluated
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Biology & behaviour
Diet
The Grey-crowned Woodpecker is a omnivore — it takes a broad, omnivorous diet of both plant and animal foods.
Behaviour
A bird of dense forest, it spends much of its time perched in trees and shrubs.
Migration
The Grey-crowned Woodpecker is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
The Grey-crowned Woodpecker (Colaptes auricularis) belongs to the Picidae family of the order Piciformes. It is found across Central America & Caribbean. Its distribution covers MA w Mexico.
It is a medium-sized bird. Adults weighs around 65.4 g, with a wing length of about 12 cm and a tail of around 7.9 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 203,000 km².
Songs & calls
Frequently asked questions
How big is the Grey-crowned Woodpecker?
The Grey-crowned Woodpecker is a medium-sized bird that weighs around 65.4 g.
Where does the Grey-crowned Woodpecker live?
The Grey-crowned Woodpecker is found across Central America & Caribbean with a range covering MA w Mexico, where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.
What family does the Grey-crowned Woodpecker belong to?
The Grey-crowned Woodpecker (Colaptes auricularis) belongs to the Picidae family, in the order Piciformes.
What does the Grey-crowned Woodpecker eat?
The Grey-crowned Woodpecker is a omnivore — it takes a broad, omnivorous diet of both plant and animal foods.
Does the Grey-crowned Woodpecker migrate?
The Grey-crowned Woodpecker is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
Is the Grey-crowned 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 Grey-crowned Woodpecker make?
1 real field recording of the Grey-crowned Woodpecker — including its drumming — can be played in the Songs & calls section on this page, credited to the recordist who captured it.
How large is the Grey-crowned Woodpecker's range?
The Grey-crowned Woodpecker has a mapped global range of about 203,000 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.