The Story
I photographed this Red-crowned Woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus) at Finca Ecoturística San Javier, in the vereda Chucuní near Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia. It forages at all levels but favors the middle and lower parts of the forest, probing, gleaning and hammering for insects. It also eats a lot of fruit, piercing or pecking open fruits that are too large to swallow. It is a year-round resident throughout its range. IUCN lists it as Least Concern. Its black flight feathers are barred with white throughout.
I used a Canon R5 with the RF 800mm f/11 for this one, at 1/1000 sec, f/11, ISO 1600. Finca San Javier offers guided birding as part of its work to help conserve the tropical dry forest of the Chucuní area.
©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