Yellow-tufted Woodpecker Melanerpes cruentatus Scientific name definitions

Dubbed by one author the "harlequins of the forest canopy" (Hilty 2003), the colorful and noisy Yellow-tufted Woodpecker is common and conspicuous throughout the Amazon region of eastern South America. Highly social, these woodpeckers are seen most often in groups of 3-8. They make their presence known with frequent vocalizations and often perch out in the open. Yellow-tufted is a small, mostly black woodpecker with a white rump, and an elaborate yellow facial tuft that extends from a yellow eye ring; it also has a red belly. Yellow-tufted Woodpeckers are omnivorous and inhabit humid forests, forest borders, and clearings with tall dead trees. Yellow-tufted Woodpecker nests somewhat communally with multiple nests in a given area tended by family helpers from previous generations.