The Story
I photographed this Red-crowned Woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus) at Finca Ecoturística San Javier, in the vereda Chucuní near Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and Tobago, mostly from sea level to 1,700 meters. Its black flight feathers are barred with white throughout. It feeds by probing, gleaning and hammering for insects and by reaching for fruit. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11, at 1/6000 sec, f/11, ISO 3200. Finca San Javier began as a pig farm in 1997 and turned to ecotourism in 2017, and today it offers guided birding and aims to help conserve the tropical dry forest around it.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Red-crowned Woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus) 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 2020), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List