Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 8.7–10.2 in
22–26 cm - Wingspan
- 16.9 in
43 cm - Weight
- 2.3–3.6 oz
65–102 g
Other Names
- Pic à front doré (French)
- Carpintero cheje (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Golden-fronted Woodpecker is composed of four subspecies that differ in size, amount of barring on the tail, and the color of the nape, nasal tufts, and belly. Whereas the nape of the form found in Texas and most of Mexico is yellow to orange, it is red on the Yucatan Peninsula and orange farther south. The four forms were formerly considered different species.
- The Golden-fronted Woodpecker consumes about as much fruit and nuts as it does insects. In summer in Texas, the faces of some woodpeckers become stained purple from eating fruit of the prickly pear cactus.
Habitat
Open Woodland
Open to semiopen woodlands, second-growth forests, and brushlands.
Food
Insects
Insects, fruit, seeds, occasional birds' eggs and lizards.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 4–7 eggs
- Egg Description
- White.
- Condition at Hatching
- Naked and helpless with eyes closed.
Nest Description
Nests in holes in limbs and trunks of live or dead trees.
Nest Placement
Cavity
Behavior
Bark Forager
Gleans insects from bark, probes into holes and dead wood, scales bark, hawks for flying insects.
Conservation
Least Concern
Populations appear stable. Increased in Texas and Oklahoma in second half of 20th century with the proliferation of mesquite on rangeland.
Credits
- Husak, M. S., and T. C. Maxwell. 1998. Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons). In The Birds of North America, No. 373 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.