What does the golden-fronted woodpecker look like?
This very colorful woodpecker is medium sized. The wings are black and white stripped. It has a white bump and black tail.
There is a yellow orange color on the neck and a red cap. There is a small yellow patch at the base of his mouth.
The face is gray and the underpart is gray. The bill is black and so are the legs and feet.
Range and Habitat
Beach Baby Bob is traveling once again this winter. He and his wife are living in a tree house in Bucerias Mexico, which is on the Nayarit Riviera just a few miles north of Puerto Vallarta.
The Sierra Madre mountains empty its mountain rivers and streams into Banderas Bay near P.V. and Bucerias.
The Golden-fronted woodpecker loves this kind of delta terrain. There is lots of water and the ocean is right there.
The tree, like the giant parota tree next to Beach Baby Bob’s penthouse, is giant with very large branches. This creates wide open spaces and this woodpecker loves that.
Bob’s parota tree is hundreds of years old and so there are many dead branches filled with delicious insects for the woodpecker to dine on.
You may find this bird from southwestern Oklahoma through Mexico into Central America. It doesn’t seem to go too far from home since it has all that it needs year round … warmth and food.
Fun Facts to share with your Friends
- They eat bugs, fruit, and nuts.
- If their face is purple, they have been eating too much prickly pear cactus.
- There are 4 different kinds, so don’t get them mixed up.
- A German herpetologist described and named it – Centurus auriferous.
- A group of woodpeckers is called a “descent” or a “drumming” or a “gatling”.
- You might see one eating on the ground or chasing a bug up a tree to catch it.
Nests
As I mentioned, they love large trees so their favourite trees to build their homes in are … the Pecan tree, the Oak tree, and the Mesquite Tree.
Voice
Here is one in Myra Garza’s Pecan tree. This bird makes a lot of noise when it talks and I think once you’ve heard it a few times, you will never forget his call. “Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” – very harsh. It wants you to hear it.
Just Remember
The dad has a red hat and is very handsome. The mom has no hat. The teenager has a brown hat and his breast is streaked.