Black-cheeked WoodpeckerCosta Rica bird species · Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers in Costa Rica: all 16 species, and where to see them
16 species, 3 found only in this corner of the world, and 12 of them here all year.
Costa Rica's official list has 16 woodpeckers, about one bird in every fifty-nine on it, all in the family Picidae, which on the list includes one piculet. Twelve are residents, three are regional endemics and one is a migrant, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
The three endemics live only in this small corner of the world: the Golden-naped Woodpecker, Hoffmann's Woodpecker and the Rufous-winged Woodpecker. The one we place is the Golden-naped, in the lowland forest round Bahía Ballena on the Pacific coast, where our Marino Ballena page also puts Baird's Trogon and the Orange-collared Manakin.
Every one of the 16 has its own page with a photo, so this page gives you the full list, the counts and the places we name them. Nothing here is guessed.
Where to see them
These are the 9 places where we name them, from our hotspot pages and each bird's own page.
- Place where we name them
- Highlands
- Caribbean Foothills
- Caribbean Lowlands
- Northern Pacific Lowlands
- Central and Southern Pacific Lowlands
- 1San Gerardo de Dota and the Savegre valleyHighlandsAcorn Woodpecker
- 2Los Quetzales National ParkHighlandsHairy Woodpecker
- 3Cerro de la Muerte and the km 70 lookoutsHighlandsAcorn Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker
- 4Monteverde Cloud Forest ReserveHighlandsHoffmann's Woodpecker, Golden-olive Woodpecker
- 5La Selva Biological Station, SarapiquíCaribbean LowlandsBlack-cheeked Woodpecker, Cinnamon Woodpecker, Rufous-winged Woodpecker
- 6Carara National ParkCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsOlivaceous Piculet, Golden-naped Woodpecker, Red-crowned Woodpecker
- 7Marino Ballena National Park and Bahía BallenaCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsGolden-naped Woodpecker
- 8Hacienda Barú National Wildlife RefugeCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsOlivaceous Piculet
- 9Manuel Antonio National ParkCentral and Southern Pacific LowlandsRed-crowned Woodpecker
The 3 regional endemics
The ones you can only see in this part of the world.
Golden-naped Woodpecker, Hoffmann's Woodpecker, Rufous-winged Woodpecker.
All 16 woodpeckers on the list
The full group as Costa Rica's official list has it, in the list's own order. Tick them off on the printable checklist.
Olivaceous PiculetPicumnus olivaceusSeen at Carara National Park, Hacienda Barú
Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus variusCosta Rica's only migratory woodpecker, here from late fall to early spring.
Acorn WoodpeckerMelanerpes formicivorusSeen at Cerro de la Muerte, San Gerardo de Dota
Golden-naped WoodpeckerMelanerpes chrysauchenSeen at Carara National Park, Marino Ballena National Park
Black-cheeked WoodpeckerMelanerpes pucheraniSeen at La Selva Biological Station
Red-crowned WoodpeckerMelanerpes rubricapillusSeen at Carara National Park, Manuel Antonio National Park
Hoffmann's WoodpeckerMelanerpes hoffmanniiSeen at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Hairy WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus villosusSeen at Cerro de la Muerte, Los Quetzales National Park
Smoky-brown WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus fumigatusA small, plain brown woodpecker of Caribbean second growth and forest edge
Red-rumped WoodpeckerVeniliornis kirkiiSmall, barred and red-rumped: the hardest woodpecker to see in Costa Rica.
Pale-billed WoodpeckerCampephilus guatemalensisA huge red-headed woodpecker with an ivory bill and a double-knock drum.
Lineated WoodpeckerDryocopus lineatusA big, red-crested woodpecker that laughs its way through forest edges.
Cinnamon WoodpeckerCeleus loricatusSeen at La Selva Biological Station
Chestnut-colored WoodpeckerCeleus castaneusA quiet chestnut woodpecker of the Caribbean lowlands, easy to miss against bark.
Rufous-winged WoodpeckerPiculus simplexSeen at La Selva Biological Station
Golden-olive WoodpeckerColaptes rubiginosusSeen at Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Names and status: AOCR Lista Oficial 2025-2026, June 2026 update.
Trips that find them
Northern Volcanoes and Wetlands names the Chestnut-colored Woodpecker on the way.
Is this bird on your list?
Tell us the birds you most want to see, your dates and how you like to travel, and one of our Costa Rica specialists comes back to you personally with a first itinerary built around them. That first version is just a place to start.
Or call us: 1 (800) 996-1139 from the US and Canada, +506 4052-2140 in Costa Rica.