Celeus undatus
The Variable Woodpecker, *Celeus undatus*, is a striking medium-sized woodpecker of the Neotropical rainforests, instantly recognizable by its distinctive wavy black barring and prominent golden-yellow to tawny crest. Measuring approximately 20-23 cm (8-9 in) in length and weighing between 60-80 grams, its body plumage is predominantly rufous-chestnut, beautifully adorned with fine, undulating black lines across its back, wings, and underparts. Key field marks include its pale, often yellowis...
This species primarily inhabits humid tropical and subtropical forests, favoring lowland rainforests, gallery forests, and mature secondary growth, typically found at low to mid-elevations.
Primarily myrmecophagous, their diet consists mainly of ants and termites, including their larvae and eggs, supplemented occasionally with small fruits and berries, acquired by probing and tearing into insect nests.
The Variable Woodpecker is a diurnal species, spending its days actively foraging and typically roosting within tree cavities at night. Its foraging strategy is specialized, predominantly involving gleaning and probing for ants and termites on tree trunks and branches, often tearing into arboreal...
The Variable Woodpecker is a widespread resident throughout the Amazon Basin and the Guianas in South America. Its extensive breeding range covers eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, and extends widely across the Brazilian Amazon. It is also found throughout French ...
Least Concern
- The specific epithet, *undatus*, means "wavy," directly referring to the intricate, wave-like barring pattern on its plumage. - Its striking golden-yellow to tawny crest gives it a particularly regal and distinctive appearance among South American woodpeckers. - Unlike many woodpeckers that dri...