Melanerpes pygmaeus
Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The Yucatan woodpecker (Melanerpes pygmaeus) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is sometimes referred to as the red-vented woodpecker. The Yucatan woodpecker is found in Belize and Mexico, and ranges over the entire Yucatán Peninsula. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.
The adult Yucatan woodpecker is 17 cm (6.7 in) in length. Adults are mainly light gray on the face and underparts; they have black and white barred patterns on their back, wings and tail. Adult males have a red cap going from the eye to the nape, whereas the red cap is only in the occipital area in the females. There are yellow feathers around the base of the bill. There may be a yellowish tinge to the belly and a red wash to the vent area.
The plumage of the Yucatan woodpecker is very similar in appearance to that of the golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons), which is also found throughout the entire Yucatán Peninsula. It can be very difficult to distinguish between these two species in the field. The golden-fronted woodpecker — which is much more common than the Yucatan woodpecker... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | Celestún Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 5 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Tikal National Park | 🇬🇹 Guatemala |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Yucatán Woodpecker sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 707 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 35th most-seen of the 288 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.
February, April, June and November
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Yucatán Woodpecker in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against about 20% in August and October, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yucatán 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.
2nd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Yucatán Woodpecker sightings, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve ranks 2nd at about 30%. The best odds are in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park (Mexico, about 60%).
Same genus: Melanerpes
The closest relatives of the Yucatán Woodpecker that you can see in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (genus Melanerpes, Melanerpes Woodpeckers) are Golden-fronted Woodpecker (about 70%) and Velasquez's Woodpecker (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yucatán Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (707 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.
