Melanerpes chrysauchen
Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The golden-naped woodpecker (Melanerpes chrysauchen) is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae. The species is very closely related to the beautiful woodpecker, which is sometimes treated as the same species. The two species, along with several other species, are sometimes placed in the genus Tripsurus.
It is found in Costa Rica and western Panama, where it is found on the Pacific slopes of those countries. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as "least concern".
The golden-naped woodpecker grows to a length of about 18 cm (7 in). It is similar in appearance to the beautiful woodpecker but their ranges do not overlap. The sexes are similar apart from the male having a yellow fore-crown and a red central-crown, while the whole crown of the female is yellow except for a narrow central transverse black band. Both sexes have a yellow nape, and a black mask surrounding the eyes and running to the nape. There is a small white patch behind the eye. The lores, cheeks, chin, throat and breast are pale yellow,... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-naped Woodpecker sighting in Corcovado National Park on a given day, based on 964 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 29th most-seen of the 332 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-naped Woodpecker in Corcovado National Park on a given day, against about 20% in August–September and November–January, the lowest months. That is one of Corcovado National Park's wettest months, with about 770 mm of rain against 65 mm in February.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Golden-naped 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.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Golden-naped Woodpecker sightings, Corcovado National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Golden-naped Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Corcovado National Park (964 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.
