Golden-Fronted Woodpecker
Melanerpes aurifrons
About This Species
This woodpecker is common in mesquite woodland, riverside groves and suburban yards across south Texas and into Mexico, where its loud rolling call and steady drumming often give it away before it is seen. It readily visits feeders for suet or fruit and excavates nest holes in dead or dying wood, including palm trunks. Look for it year-round, since it does not migrate, though drumming and calling peak during the spring breeding season.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- A few metres' distance is enough to watch normal feeding and calling behaviour without disturbing it, and it is generally tolerant of quiet observers near feeders.
- As a native bird in the US and Mexico it is protected from take or nest destruction under migratory bird law, though the exact provisions differ between the two countries.
- Avoid disturbing an active nest cavity, since abandonment can occur if adults are repeatedly flushed.
LCAvesPiciformesPicidae
Seasonal Activity
1,008,301 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
Photo
(c) Greg Lasley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Greg Lasley
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.