Rufous-winged Woodpecker

How to find it

Listen first, because its loud, jay-like calls often give away its presence. Then scan the canopy, since it tends to stay high, and check any mixed flocks passing through. A Costa Rica birding writer says it is seen on most trips to the Caribbean lowlands and foothills. At La Selva, one group found it after crossing the suspension bridge over the river. Be patient: another group needed several attempts there before getting good scope views.

How to recognise it

Think small, green and rufous-winged. It is about 18 cm long and mostly greenish.

Look for these marks:

- a short red nape crest

- a large rufous patch on the wing

- uneven barring on the belly

- buff-yellow spots on the breast

- olive wings and a dull black tail

- a black bill with a pale grey base

- a pale eye, from bluish to whitish or yellowish

The sexes differ in the red. The male has red on the forehead, crown, nape and a broad malar stripe. The female has red only on the back of the neck, up to the crest.

Behaviour and diet

This woodpecker is usually seen alone, sometimes in pairs. It mostly forages in the canopy but also works the mid levels of the forest, and it sometimes joins mixed flocks. It feeds on ants, beetles and larvae.

For nesting it digs a hole in a recently dead tree or a rotten trunk, 2.5 to 5 m up. The clutch is 2 to 4 eggs, and breeding runs from February to May across its range.

Where it lives

It lives in humid forest, using the canopy and edge and adjoining wooded areas. It sometimes visits isolated large trees in nearby open areas. Across its range it occurs up to about 750 m on the Caribbean slope and about 900 m on the Pacific slope, and it stays below 900 m.

In Costa Rica it is fairly common in primary and secondary forest on the Caribbean slope. It has been recorded in Braulio Carrillo National Park at about 400 m, and the far southeast, the Gandoca-Manzanillo and Sixaola region, is also listed for it.

Similar birds

Golden-olive Woodpecker looks similar but is much more common. In Costa Rica it shows a blue-grey crown, pale cheeks and a dark eye, while this species has a pale eye.

Cinnamon Woodpecker is another rufous woodpecker of the Caribbean lowlands. It is a fruit eater that often hides high in dense canopy, and one tour group saw both on the same day at La Selva.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican lists use Carpintero Alirrufo, the AOCR name. It also appears as Carpinterito alirrufo.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a resident endemic (R-END), it is described in Costa Rica as uncommon to fairly common, and the IUCN rates it Least Concern.

Photography tips

Expect high canopy birds that are tough to photograph. A Costa Rica birding writer warns that these woodpeckers are hard to digiscope, so patience and a good view of the calling bird help most.