White-fronted Woodpecker

White-fronted Woodpecker

Melanerpes cactorum

Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Cordoba

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

921 Verified sightings at Cordoba
200 In all 3 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the White-fronted Woodpecker

The white-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes cactorum) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found mainly in Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.

The adult white-fronted woodpecker is about 17 cm (7 in) in length. The sexes are similar in appearance except for a small patch of red, not always visible, on the crown in males. The crown, nape and upper parts are glossy black, apart from a thin white line running from a white nape patch down the centre of the back. A black mask surrounds the eye and extends to the mantle. The upper side of the wings is bluish-black, boldly barred with white, and the underside is browner. The upper side of the tail is black with white markings and the underside is browner. The fore-crown and cheeks are white, and the chin and throat are white, yellow or buff. The breast and belly are some shade of grey, with indistinct barring on the flanks and lower belly. The iris is reddish-brown, the beak greyish-black and the legs grey. Juveniles are similar to the adults but are generally a duller... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:30

Argentina · 2024

© Sabrina Andrea Rendon Anaya · XC891770 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Subsong0:36

Uruguay · 2023

© Pedro Rinaldi · XC814162 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Drumming0:50

Argentina · 2019

© Niels Krabbe · XC506338 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 El Impenetrable National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~40%
2 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
3 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cordoba 🇦🇷 Argentina
~40%
2 Mendoza 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a White-fronted Woodpecker in Cordoba?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a White-fronted Woodpecker sighting in Cordoba on a given day, based on 921 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 19th most-seen of the 176 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a White-fronted Woodpecker in Cordoba?

May

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a White-fronted Woodpecker in Cordoba on a given day, against about 30% in December, the lowest month. That is one of Cordoba's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 130 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a White-fronted Woodpecker?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-fronted Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Cordoba the best place to see a White-fronted Woodpecker?

Yes

Of the 2 cities where we can rate White-fronted Woodpecker sightings, Cordoba has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Mendoza (Argentina, about 10%).

Where does the White-fronted Woodpecker sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the White-fronted Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Cordoba (921 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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