Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Melanerpes aurifrons

Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Guadalajara

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

281 Verified sightings at Guadalajara
10,871 In all 19 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Golden-fronted Woodpecker

The golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in the southern United States (mostly Texas), Mexico and parts of Central America.

The golden-fronted woodpecker was formally described in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler under the binomial name Picus aurifrons. The specific epithet combines the Latin aurum, auri meaning "gold" with frons, frontis meaning "forehead", "brow" or "front". The type locality is the state of Hidalgo in south central Mexico. The golden-fronted woodpecker is now one of the 23 species placed in the genus Melanerpes that was introduced by the English ornithologist William Swainson in 1832.

Twelve subspecies are recognised, many of which are restricted to islands. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:07

Belize · 2022

© Cheng-En, HSIEH · XC737570 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Drumming0:04

Honduras · 2016

© Bruce Lagerquist · XC594278 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:08

Mexico · 2012

© Elvis Herrera Rodríguez · XC197793 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~70%
2 Cusuco National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~70%
3 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~70%
4 Lago de Yojoa 🇭🇳 Honduras
~70%
5 Pico Bonito National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~60%
6 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~50%
7 El Triunfo 🇲🇽 Mexico
~50%
8 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~50%
9 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~50%
10 Celaque National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~40%
11 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~40%
12 La Tigra National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~40%
13 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
14 Biotopo Cerro Cahuí 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~30%
15 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
16 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
17 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
~20%
18 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~20%
19 Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Monterrey 🇲🇽 México
~90%
2 Torreón 🇲🇽 México
~80%
3 León 🇲🇽 México
~80%
4 Tegucigalpa 🇭🇳 Honduras
~80%
5 San Pedro Sula 🇭🇳 Honduras
~70%
6 Guatemala City 🇬🇹 Guatemala
~70%
7 San Salvador 🇸🇻 El Salvador
~70%
8 San Antonio 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
9 Guadalajara 🇲🇽 México
~20%
10 San Luis Potosí 🇲🇽 México
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Golden-fronted Woodpecker in Guadalajara?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-fronted Woodpecker sighting in Guadalajara on a given day, based on 281 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 38th most-seen of the 184 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Golden-fronted Woodpecker in Guadalajara?

April and May

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-fronted Woodpecker in Guadalajara on a given day, against about 10% in July–August, October and December, the lowest months. Those are among Guadalajara's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 210 mm in July.

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

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Golden-fronted Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Guadalajara the best place to see a Golden-fronted Woodpecker?

9th of 12

Of the 12 cities where we can rate Golden-fronted Woodpecker sightings, Guadalajara ranks 9th at about 20%. The best odds are in Monterrey (México, about 90%), Torreón (México, about 80%) and León (México, about 80%).

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

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Golden-fronted Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Guadalajara (281 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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