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Photo: Hector Bottai / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Least Concern

Red-necked Woodpecker

Campephilus rubricollis

Red-necked Woodpecker (Campephilus rubricollis) — Woodpeckers & Toucans of South America.

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The Red-necked Woodpecker (Campephilus rubricollis) is a member of the Picidae family found in South America. Adults weigh 211 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

LC Least Concern

Widespread and abundant — not currently at risk.

Where it fits

  1. Class Aves
  2. Order Piciformes
  3. Family Picidae Woodpeckers
  4. Genus Campephilus
  5. Species rubricollis

Where it lives

Amazonia

Quick facts

Weight
211 g
Family
Picidae
Order
Piciformes
Habitat
Woodland

How to identify

Similar birds

Biology & behaviour

Diet

The Red-necked 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 Red-necked Woodpecker is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.

The Red-necked Woodpecker (Campephilus rubricollis) is a species of bird in the Picidae family, part of the order Piciformes. It is found across South America. Its distribution covers SA Amazonia.

It is a large bird. Adults weighs around 211 g, with a wing length of about 17.9 cm and a tail of around 12.3 cm.

The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern. That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.

Its mapped global range covers an estimated 6.9 million km².

Songs & calls

Red-necked Woodpecker — Call, drumming

Recorded by Richard E. Webster Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How big is the Red-necked Woodpecker?

The Red-necked Woodpecker is a large bird that weighs around 211 g.

Where does the Red-necked Woodpecker live?

The Red-necked Woodpecker is found across South America with a range covering SA Amazonia, where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.

What family does the Red-necked Woodpecker belong to?

The Red-necked Woodpecker (Campephilus rubricollis) belongs to the Picidae family, in the order Piciformes.

What does the Red-necked Woodpecker eat?

The Red-necked Woodpecker is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.

Does the Red-necked Woodpecker migrate?

The Red-necked Woodpecker is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.

Is the Red-necked 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 Red-necked Woodpecker make?

1 real field recording of the Red-necked Woodpecker — including its call — can be played in the Songs & calls section on this page, credited to the recordist who captured it.

How large is the Red-necked Woodpecker's range?

The Red-necked Woodpecker has a mapped global range of about 6.9 million km².

Conservation

Least Concern

Every bird benefits from bird-safe windows, native plants, and keeping cats indoors. Small changes at home add up to real protection.

How to help birds

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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.

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Meet the Picidae

A field guide to the Picidae family — 239 species in the Birbs encyclopedia, with the best-known members to start with.

1 min read

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