The Story
I photographed this Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) at La Florida, El Bosque de las Aves, in the Kilómetro 18 area near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, in October 2019. It lives in oak forest from Oregon and California south through Central America to Colombia. It breeds cooperatively in family groups of up to 15 birds, with helpers from earlier broods. Its call sounds almost like laughter. Its eyes are dark in fledglings and turn white within a few months. IUCN lists it as Least Concern, and its population appears to be growing.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/1600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400, −1 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18 is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) belongs to the family Picidae (Woodpeckers) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2024), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List