Golden-Olive Woodpecker
Colaptes rubiginosus
About This Species
Found in forests and woodland edges from Mexico through much of South America, this olive-green woodpecker with a golden nape forages by working steadily up tree trunks and along branches, probing bark for insects. Its presence is often given away by soft tapping or drumming rather than loud calls, so listening carefully in mid-storey forest is productive. It tends to favour dead or decaying wood, so scanning snags and dead branches improves the odds of a sighting.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Observing quietly from a stationary spot rather than approaching a foraging bird directly tends to give longer, better views, since sudden movement easily flushes woodpeckers into cover.
- Wildlife protections differ across the many countries within its range, so specific legal distances are not consistent and general caution is the safer guide.
- Avoid disturbing dead trees or snags that show signs of nesting cavities, which many woodpeckers rely on.
LCAvesPiciformesPicidae
Seasonal Activity
224,705 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
Photo
(c) Christoph Moning, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Christoph Moning
CC-BY-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.