Melanerpes rubricapillus
Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The red-crowned woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus) is a species of bird in the subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and Tobago. The red-crowned woodpecker has sometimes been placed in the genus Centurus. It has also sometimes been treated as conspecific with the Yucatan woodpecker (M. pygmaeus) and some authors consider them a superspecies.
The red-crowned woodpecker has these four subspecies: The validity of subspecies M. r. paraguanae has been challenged, and some other subspecies have been proposed but not accepted as valid. The red-crowned woodpecker is 16 to 18.5 cm (6.3 to 7.3 in) long and weighs 40 to 65 g (1.4 to 2.3 oz). The sexes' plumage is alike except for their head pattern. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a pale yellow to whitish forehead, a bright red crown, and an orange-red nape and hindneck. Adult females have the same pale yellow to whitish forehead but a pale gray-buff to whitish crown... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Coiba National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Tayrona National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 7 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | San Lorenzo Protected Forest | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 10 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 12 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 13 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 14 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 15 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 16 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 17 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 18 | Darién National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 19 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 20 | Sierra de la Macarena National Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 21 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Valencia | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 3 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 5 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Maracaibo | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 7 | Barranquilla | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 8 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Red-crowned Woodpecker sighting in Coiba National Park on a given day, based on 113 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 118 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Red-crowned Woodpecker in Coiba National Park on a given day, against about 40% in November and December, the lowest months. That is one of Coiba National Park's wettest months, with about 490 mm of rain against 35 mm in February. May and October have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-crowned 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.
Among the best
Of the 21 parks where we can rate Red-crowned Woodpecker sightings, Coiba National Park ranks 2nd at about 60%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Parque Natural Metropolitano (Panama, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-crowned Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Coiba National Park (113 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
