Campephilus pollens
The Powerful Woodpecker (Campephilus pollens) is a magnificent and robust member of the Picidae family, showcasing the striking black and white plumage characteristic of its genus, often accentuated by brilliant red. Measuring 32-34 cm (12.5-13.5 in) in length and weighing between 200-240g (7.1-8.5 oz), it is among the largest woodpeckers in its Andean habitat. Males are distinguished by a fiery red crest and an entirely red chin and throat, contrasted by a prominent white line extending from...
This species primarily inhabits humid montane evergreen forests and cloud forests, favoring elevations typically between 1,600 and 3,000 meters, though occasionally found lower or higher.
Its diet mainly consists of wood-boring beetle larvae, ants, and other insects extracted from decaying wood, supplemented occasionally with fruits and berries.
The Powerful Woodpecker is a diurnal and predominantly solitary or pair-bonded species, often detected by its resonant, far-carrying drumming. Its foraging strategy involves extensive excavation into large dead or decaying tree trunks and branches, where it scales off bark and chisels deeply to e...
The Powerful Woodpecker is a resident species found exclusively in the Andean cordilleras of South America. Its distribution stretches from the extreme western parts of Venezuela, through the Central and Eastern Andes of Colombia, and southwards through Ecuador and into northern Peru. Within this...
Least Concern
- The Powerful Woodpecker is one of the largest woodpeckers in South America, its size comparable to a crow. - Its genus, *Campephilus*, includes some of the most impressive and elusive woodpeckers globally, such as the critically endangered or possibly extinct Ivory-billed and Imperial Woodpecke...