Family Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Least Concern
Hoffmann's Woodpecker (Melanerpes hoffmannii)
Taxonomy
French: Pic de Hoffmann German: Hoffmannspecht Spanish: Carpintero de Hoffmann
Taxonomy:
Centurus Hoffmannii
Cabanis
, 1862,Costa Rica
.Distribution:
Pacific slope from S Honduras and Nicaragua S to Costa Rica (S to Quepos, and on Caribbean slope to Turrialba).
Descriptive notes
c. 19–21 cm; 62–84 g. Male has pale golden-yellow nasal tufts, red crown patch, golden-yellow to orange-yellow nape and hindneck sometimes with few scattered red... read more
Voice
Most common are loud to soft “churr” calls, like those of M. aurifrons; hard... read more
Habitat
Xeric to mesic open and semi-open country. Typically, deciduous forest, light woodland, second... read more
Food and feeding
Insects, particularly ants, beetles, lepidopterans, and their larvae. Eats many fruits, including figs (Ficus), also Cecropia... read more
Breeding
Feb–Jul; often 2 broods. Monogamous, in pairs throughout year; solitary nester. Often conspicuous encounters between pairs before... read more
Movements
Resident.
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Fairly common to common in N of range; common to locally very common in Costa Rica. Occurs in Santa Rosa, Palo Verde and Barra Honda National Parks... read more
Sometimes separated with other barred congeners in Centurus. Has been reckoned closest to M. aurifrons, and was formerly regarded by some as conspecific, but recent molecular phylogeny indicates that present species occupies a near-basal position in genus#R. Hybridizes with M. aurifrons in S Honduras (R Pespire) and with M. rubricapillus in C Costa Rica, producing numerous individuals with intermediate appearance (e.g. majority between Tárcoles and Quepos, in Costa Rica, have orange hindneck and belly). Monotypic.