Black-necked Woodpecker

About the Black-necked Woodpecker

The black-necked woodpecker or black-necked flicker (Colaptes atricollis) is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is endemic to Peru. The black-necked woodpecker was originally described as Chrysopicos atricollis. It was later placed in genus Chrysoptilus but since about 2007 it has been moved into Colaptes by taxonomic systems.

The black-necked woodpecker has two subspecies, the nominate C. a. atricollis (Malherbe, 1850) and C. a. peruvianus (Reichenbach, 1854). The black-necked woodpecker is 26 to 27 cm (10 to 11 in) long and weighs 73 to 90 g (2.6 to 3.2 oz). Males and females have the same plumage except on their heads. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are dark gray from forehead to forecrown and red on the hindcrown and upper nape; the gray often has red feather tips. They are yellowish white from their lores around the eye to the nape with a red malar stripe below it and a black chin and throat. Adult females have red only on the hindcrown and their malar is blackish. Both sexes have bronze-green upperparts with narrow blackish bars; both colors are paler on their rump and uppertail coverts... Wikipedia →