Black-cheeked Woodpecker

La historia

This Black-cheeked Woodpecker (Melanerpes pucherani) landed briefly on a palm trunk near Capurganá, in Chocó, Colombia, its red crown showing against soft green. It is found from Mexico south to Ecuador. It eats a very wide variety of arthropods, including spiders, beetles and ants, as well as fruits, berries, seeds and nectar from large flowers in trees. It digs its nest hole in a dead trunk or branch, usually 4 to 30 meters above the ground.

I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/180 sec, f/16, ISO 3200, −0,5 EV. IUCN lists the Black-cheeked Woodpecker as Least Concern, and since it nests in dead trunks and branches, leaving standing dead trees helps it.

El ave

The Black-cheeked Woodpecker (Melanerpes pucherani) pertenece a la familia Picidae (Woodpeckers) en la taxonomía eBird/Clements.

Fuente: eBird.org (se abre en una pestaña nueva)

Conservación

Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Fuente: Lista Roja de la UICN