Campephilus splendens
The Splendid Woodpecker (Campephilus splendens) is a magnificent and elusive avian jewel of the Neotropics, renowned for its striking plumage and impressive size. Averaging 48-52 cm (19-20.5 inches) in length with a wingspan of 75-80 cm (29.5-31.5 inches) and weighing 500-600 grams (1.1-1.3 lbs), it commands attention. Adults exhibit glossy black overall plumage, dramatically contrasted by a broad white stripe extending from the base of the bill down the neck and along the scapulars, forming ...
Primarily found in mature, undisturbed lowland and montane humid evergreen forests, often associated with dense understory and large dead or decaying trees, typically at elevations between 500-2,000 meters (1,600-6,500 feet).
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on large larvae of wood-boring beetles and carpenter ants extracted from decaying wood, supplemented occasionally by fruits and nuts; foraging involves extensive excavation and bark scaling.
The Splendid Woodpecker is a diurnal species, active from dawn to dusk, often roosting in large tree cavities excavated in previous seasons. Its foraging strategy involves powerful drilling and scaling of bark on large, often dead or dying trees, searching for wood-boring beetle larvae and other ...
The Splendid Woodpecker is a resident species found primarily in the fragmented mature rainforests of Central and South America. Its main distribution extends from southern Nicaragua through Costa Rica, Panama, and into the Pacific slope of Colombia and Ecuador, with isolated populations reported...
Vulnerable
- The Splendid Woodpecker's powerful bill can excavate cavities up to 30 cm (12 inches) deep into solid wood to extract grubs. - Its drumming pattern is distinctively slow and double-rapped, a unique acoustic signature among tropical woodpeckers. - Local folklore in parts of its range describes t...