Powerful Woodpecker (Campephilus pollens)

Order: Piciformes  | Family: Picidae | IUCN Status: Least Concern

powerful_woodpecker
Age: Adult | Sex: Male | Loc. East Slope of the Andes, Colombia

powerful_woodpecker
Age: Adult | Sex: Male | Loc. East Slope of the Andes, Colombia

powerful_woodpecker
Age: Adult | Sex: Female | Loc. East Slope of the Andes, Ecuador

powerful_woodpecker
Age: Adult | Sex: Female | Loc. Manu Road, Cuzco

Identification & Behavior: ~34.5 cm (13.6 in). The Powerful Woodpecker has black upperparts with two white stripes on the shoulders that meet in the back. The male has rusty underparts heavily barred black with the breast, front of the neck, and throat black. Both sexes have a white line from the base of the bill down the sides of the neck. The male has a black forehead, sides of the head, and red crest. The female has a black head. It is similar to Lineated Woodpecker and Crimson-crested Woodpecker, but it favors humid montane forest and has little to no overlap with typical lowlands large woodpeckers.

Status: The Powerful Woodpecker is rare in montane forest on the east slope of the Andes where it is known to range at elevations between 2100-3100 m. It also occurs in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Carpintero Poderoso.

Sub-species: Powerful Woodpecker (Campephilus pollens peruvianus), Cory 1915.

Meaning of Name: Campephilus: Gr. Kampe= caterpillar and philos, phileo= one who likes. pollens: L. powerful, strong.

See more of the Family Picidae   peru aves

Distribution Map
powerful woodpeckerVoice

References:

    • Species range based on: Schulenberg, T. S., D. F. Stotz, and L. Rico. 2006. Distribution maps of the birds of Peru, version 1.0. Environment, Culture & Conservation (ECCo). The Field Museum.  http://fm2.fieldmuseum.org/uw_test/birdsofperu on 01/01/2015.