Golden-fronted Woodpeckers (Melanerpes aurifrons) could be fairly unnoticeable within their environments if it weren’t for the golden-yellow patches on their nape and front of their head and the red crown in males.
They are fascinating to observe, both for their colorful plumage and lively behavior. Here is all you need to know about them!
Identification
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers have the woodpecker’s typical stocky body shape. They are medium-sized, measuring 8.7-10.2 inches long, with a wingspan of 16.5-17.3 inches.
Their black bills are long and sturdy and they have dark red or brown eyes. They use their stiff and strong wedge-shaped tail to support themselves while they are climbing up and down tree trunks.
In flight, look for a broad white patch on the rump and rounded wings with white patches on the primaries and white barring on the upperside of the rest of the wings.
Male
Male Golden-fronted Woodpeckers have pale grayish-brown bodies and heads, a tan breast, a yellow patch on the lower belly, and black-and-white barred wings, tail, and back. They have a red crown patch, a yellow nape, and a small yellow patch at the front of the head at the upper mandible of the bill.
In Central America, their nape can vary from yellow-orange to red, and their belly from yellow to red depending on the subspecies.
Female
Female Golden-fronted Woodpeckers look very similar to males but may be a bit duller. They also have pale brownish-gray bodies and heads, black-and-white barred upperside, a yellow lower belly patch, and a yellow nape.
However, they have a pale tan crown instead of a red one. In Central America, their napes and lower bellies can be orange-red instead of yellow.
Juvenile Golden-fronted Woodpeckers are duller than adults with less distinct barring on the upperparts. They have little to no orange on the nape and subtle fine streaking on the underparts. Juvenile males have a small red crown patch whereas juvenile females have a few red feathers.
Vocalizations
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers give various squeaky, quavering, and buzzy calls. One of their calls is a quavering squeaky churrr or kirrr that is repeated a few times in a row. It is fairly monotonous, maybe slightly descending in pitch.
Another call is a squeaky nasal chuck or chuh that can escalate into a rattling buzzy scold. Males call more often, possibly to establish territory and attract a mate during the breeding season.
Both sexes drum. Males do it to mark territory and both do it near the nesting site as part of the courtship/nesting ritual. The drumming is short, lasting just over a second, and relatively slow, getting even slower towards the end.
Food
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers are omnivorous. The animal part of their diet mostly consists of various adult and larval arthropods and insects, including spiders, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, cicadas, moths, and praying mantises.
They may even go for small lizards or raid other birds’ nests for their eggs. The plant part of their diet includes various seeds, fruits, and nuts, such as corn, acorns, prickly pear cactus fruits, sumac, hackberry, soapberry, lotebush, agarita, persimmon, and wolfberry.
They mainly forage in trees, climbing up and down on tree trunks and major limbs, staying generally within 20 feet of the ground. They glean insects from the surface or probe and peck to reach those under the bark. However, they rarely excavate for the insects or fly out to catch them mid-air. They also forage on the ground, preferring open or grassy areas.
These woodpeckers also visit bird feeders! Leave out bananas, pecans, peanuts, sunflower seeds, corn, or citrus fruits if you want to attract them.
Nesting and Eggs
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers are monogamous and stay together year-round, but most give up their territories once the breeding season is over. They typically mate for life and renew their pair bonds in the early spring with displays.
Courtship displays of both new and mated pairs include lowering their heads and then swinging them, synchronized bill pointing, and calling. The same kind of behavior has been observed in aggressive encounters. Pairs also drum around their nesting sites.
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers nest in cavities 6 to 20 feet above the ground. Both members of the pair help excavate the cavity and may choose to dig it in tree trunks, fence posts, or telephone poles. The entrance measures about 2 inches in diameter, and the cavity itself is 12.5 inches deep on average and lined with wood chips. They may use the same cavity for more than one season.
One pair may have up to two broods a year, rarely even three, with 4-7, usually 4-5 eggs in a clutch. Golden-fronted Woodpecker eggs are white and measure 0.9-1.1 inches long and 0.7-0.8 inches wide. Incubation takes 12-14 days, with both members of the pair taking turns.
Males incubate at night while females during the day. Both parents take care of their offspring once they hatch. Younglings leave the nest about a month after hatching and may remain close to their parents for a while.
Current Situation
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers range throughout the Mexican Plateau in Mexico, Texas, and southwestern Oklahoma. They do not migrate and stay put year-round throughout their range, although some travel locally to find better feeding spots.
In the United States, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers inhabit various mesic or dry semi-open woodlands and burshlands, although they favor the drier ones. Some preferred habitat types include mesquite stands along dry washes, mesquite bosques, and savannas.
They are also found in orchards, open oak-juniper woodlands, and forests with cottonwood along rivers and streams and you can see them in urban parks and suburban areas as well. Look for them amongst native plants such as willow, pecan, hackberry, soapberry, agarita, and prickly pear.
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers are listed as a species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. They adapt fairly well to habitat changes and have a mostly stable or slightly declining population. However, they are still vulnerable to bigger changes and loss of habitat.
Facts About Golden-fronted Woodpeckers
- Golden-fronted Woodpeckers have a limited range in the United States. They expanded into Oklahoma only in the 1950s, inhabit a very limited area in southeastern New Mexico, and have been seen in Michigan and Florida only once.
- There is still some debate over the taxonomy of Golden-fronted Woodpeckers. Some organizations and handbooks claim that they have 12 subspecies. Others treat the Golden-fronted Woodpecker as a monotypic species and assign the subspecies to Velasquez’s Woodpecker.
- The oldest Golden-fronted Woodpecker on record lived to be at least 5 years and 11 months old.
- Golden-fronted Woodpeckers love to eat prickly pear cactus fruits and sometimes end up with purple-stained faces.
Similar Species
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers are similar to various other woodpecker species. However, once you get a closer look you should be able to tell them apart either by their heads or their undersides. Here is how.
Gila Woodpecker
Gila Woodpeckers are resident throughout Baja California, southern Arizona, along the northwestern coast of Mexico, and very limited parts of southeastern California and southwestern New Mexico. They have tan heads and bellies and their backs and wings are barred in black and white. Males have a small red crown patch.
In flight, try to get a look at their rump. Gilas have a barred rump, whereas Golden-fronted Woodpeckers have a white rump patch. When perching, look at their head. Gilas do not have a yellow nape, whereas Golden-fronted woodpeckers do.
Gilded Flicker
Gilded Flickers are resident throughout Baja California, southern Arizona, the southeastern tip of California, and a small part of northwestern Mexico.
They are barred in black and tan above, grayish with black spotting below, and have a gray head with a tan crown and black chest patch. Males have a red mustache stripe. In flight, you can see that the undersides of their flight feathers and tails are yellow.
Gilded Flickers have black spotting on their underside and a black chest patch, whereas Folden-fronted Woodpeckers are plain below. They also have tan crowns and, in males, a red mustache stripe, whereas Golden-fronted Woodpeckers have a yellow nape and, in males, a red crown patch. In flight, the latter does not have yellow underwings.
Northern Flicker
Northern Flickers range across North America and parts of Mexico. They are brownish-gray above with black barring, cinnamon below with a white lower belly and black spotting, and have a black chest patch. The birds within the same range as Golden-fronted Woodpeckers have a gray head and neck, a red mustache stripe when it is a male, and the underside of their wings and tail is red.
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers lack the black spotting below and the black chest patch, while Northern Flickers do not have yellow napes. Northern Flickers also show red underwings and which the Golden-fronted Woodpecker doesn’t.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are female Golden-fronted Woodpeckers any different from males?
Female Golden-fronted Woodpeckers do not have a red crown patch the males do.
Where do Golden-fronted Woodpeckers live?
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers live in semi-open mesic to dry woodlands and brushlands of the southwestern United States and Mexico.
What kinds of trees do Golden-fronted Woodpeckers like?
Golden-fronted Woodpeckers like oak, juniper, and mesquite trees as well as cottonwood, willow, and cypress.
