The Story
I photographed this Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) at La Minga Ecolodge in Dapa, near Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. She held steady on a weathered branch. Her red cap and black-and-white plumage were sharply outlined against the soft green understory, and she kept an alert posture in the misty quiet of the cloud forest, showing the streaking along her flanks. The species ranges from the western United States through Central America into parts of Colombia. It breeds cooperatively in family groups of up to 15 birds, and its call sounds almost like laughter. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L for this one, at 1/4000 sec, f/6.7, ISO 800, −2.5 EV. The San Antonio cloud forest at Kilometer 18, where La Minga sits, is recognized as an Important Bird Area and a Key Biodiversity Area, with the Multicolored Tanager as its symbol species.
©2025 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