Melanerpes chrysogenys
The Golden-cheeked Woodpecker (*Melanerpes chrysogenys*) is a strikingly patterned, medium-sized avian resident of western Mexico, typically measuring 20-24 cm (8-9.5 inches) in length and weighing 50-80 grams (1.8-2.8 ounces). Its most distinctive field mark is the vibrant golden-yellow cheek patches that contrast sharply with its black upperparts, barred with white in a ladder-back pattern, and an unstreaked white underbelly. Males exhibit clear sexual dimorphism with a more extensive crims...
This woodpecker primarily inhabits dry tropical deciduous forests, thorn scrub, and riparian woodlands along the Pacific slope of Mexico, ranging from sea level up to approximately 1800 meters in elevation.
Their diet consists mainly of insects, particularly ants, beetles, and their larvae, supplemented with various fruits, berries, and occasionally seeds or nectar, acquired through gleaning, probing, and agile flycatching.
Golden-cheeked Woodpeckers are diurnal, spending their days actively foraging and defending their territories, typically roosting in excavated tree cavities at night. Their foraging strategy is diverse, including gleaning insects from bark crevices, probing into dead wood for larvae, and even sal...
The Golden-cheeked Woodpecker is an endemic resident of western Mexico, found along the Pacific slope from southeastern Sonora, through Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, and Guerrero, extending south to Oaxaca. This species is entirely non-migratory, maintaining its territories year-r...
Least Concern
- The Golden-cheeked Woodpecker's scientific name, *Melanerpes chrysogenys*, literally means "golden-cheeked black-creeper," referring to its genus and distinctive facial marking. - It is one of the few woodpecker species endemic solely to the Pacific slope of Mexico, making it a regional special...