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Photo: Ben Tubby / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Least Concern

Chilean Flicker

Colaptes pitius

Chilean Flicker (Colaptes pitius) — Woodpeckers & Toucans of South America.

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The Chilean Flicker (Colaptes pitius) is a member of the Picidae family found in South America. Adults weigh 159 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 Colaptes
  5. Species pitius

Where it lives

Chile and southwestern Argentina

Quick facts

Weight
159 g
Family
Picidae
Order
Piciformes
Habitat
Woodland

How to identify

Similar birds

Biology & behaviour

Diet

The Chilean Flicker is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.

Behaviour

A bird of semi-open woodland, it forages mainly on the ground.

Migration

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

The Chilean Flicker (Colaptes pitius) is a species of bird in the Picidae family, part of the order Piciformes. It is found across South America. Its distribution covers SA Chile and sw Argentina.

It is a medium-sized bird. Adults weighs around 159 g, with a wing length of about 15.2 cm and a tail of around 11 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 428,000 km².

Songs & calls

Chilean Flicker — Call

Recorded by Cristian Pinto Fernandez Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How big is the Chilean Flicker?

The Chilean Flicker is a medium-sized bird that weighs around 159 g.

Where does the Chilean Flicker live?

The Chilean Flicker is found across South America with a range covering SA Chile and sw Argentina, where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.

What family does the Chilean Flicker belong to?

The Chilean Flicker (Colaptes pitius) belongs to the Picidae family, in the order Piciformes.

What does the Chilean Flicker eat?

The Chilean Flicker is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.

Does the Chilean Flicker migrate?

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

Is the Chilean Flicker 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 Chilean Flicker make?

1 real field recording of the Chilean Flicker — 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 Chilean Flicker's range?

The Chilean Flicker has a mapped global range of about 428,000 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.

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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.

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