Yellow-eared Woodpecker

Yellow-eared Woodpecker

Veniliornis maculifrons

Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR Endemic
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Tijuca National Park

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

119 Verified sightings at Tijuca National Park From 2019 to 2026
374 In all 3 parks
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Yellow-eared Woodpecker

The yellow-eared woodpecker (Veniliornis maculifrons) is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to eastern Brazil. The International Ornithological Committee and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World place the yellow-eared woodpecker in genus Veniliornis. However, starting in 2018, the American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy moved all species of genus Veniliornis into genus Dryobates.

The yellow-eared woodpecker is monotypic. The yellow-eared woodpecker is about 15 cm (5.9 in) long. Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Males have a brown crown with white streaks and some red tips and a mostly red hindcrown. The female has an olive crown with pale spots, and golden tips on feathers in the rear. Adults of both sexes have a mostly olive-brown face with whitish streaks and a pale golden-yellow nape. Their upperparts are mostly yellowish green, sometimes with a bronzy tinge, and yellowish spots and bars especially on the rump. Their flight feathers are darkish brown with pale yellow to white bars. Their tail is dark brown with... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:23

Brazil · 2019

© Fernando Igor de Godoy · XC705720 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:42

Brazil · 2020

© GABRIEL LEITE · XC606688 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:28

Brazil · 2021

© Ricardo Gagliardi · XC663683 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
2 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
2 Niterói 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Yellow-eared Woodpecker in Tijuca National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-eared Woodpecker sighting in Tijuca National Park on a given day, based on 119 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 98th most-seen of the 214 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Yellow-eared Woodpecker in Tijuca National Park?

April–May, July and September

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-eared Woodpecker in Tijuca National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, August and October–March, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Yellow-eared Woodpecker?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-eared 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 Tijuca National Park the best place to see a Yellow-eared Woodpecker?

2nd of 3

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Yellow-eared Woodpecker sightings, Tijuca National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 30%).

Where does the Yellow-eared Woodpecker sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Yellow-eared Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Tijuca National Park (119 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.

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