Melanerpes cactorum
Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Impenetrable National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Iberá National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-fronted Woodpecker sighting in Iberá National Park on a given day, based on 43 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 219th most-seen of the 284 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and December–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-fronted Woodpecker in Iberá National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–July and September–November, the lowest months.
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.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate White-fronted Woodpecker sightings, Iberá National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in El Impenetrable National Park (Argentina, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-fronted Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Iberá National Park (43 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.
