Golden-olive Woodpecker
Colaptes rubiginosus
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPiciformes (Woodpeckers and Allies)
- FamilyPicidae (Woodpeckers)
- GenusColaptes (Flickers and Allies)
- SpeciesColaptes rubiginosus (Golden-olive Woodpecker)
About the Golden-olive Woodpecker
The golden-olive woodpecker (Colaptes rubiginosus) is a species of bird in the subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Mexico south and east through Panama, in every mainland South American country except Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The golden-olive woodpecker was formally described in 1820 as Picus rubiginosis by the English zoologist William Swainson. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "rusty". Swainson specified the type locality as the "Spanish Main". In 1918 the Austrian ornithologist Carl Eduard Hellmayr restricted the location to Caracas, Venezuela. The golden-olive woodpecker is now one of 14 species placed in the genus Colaptes that was introduced in 1825 by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors.
Nineteen subspecies are recognised: C. r. yucatanensis (Cabot, S Jr, 1844) – southern Mexico (Oaxaca) to western Panama C. r. alleni (Bangs, O, 1902) – Santa Marta Mountains (northeastern Colombia) C. r. buenavistae (Chapman, FM, 1915) – Andean slopes of eastern Colombia and eastern Ecuador
C. r. meridensis (Ridgway, R, 1911) – northwestern Venezuela C. r. rubiginosus (Swainson, WJ, 1820) – mountains of north-central and northeastern... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park
Pale-billed Woodpecker
Campephilus guatemalensis
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Melanerpes aurifrons
Lineated Woodpecker
Dryocopus lineatus
Chestnut-colored Woodpecker
Celeus castaneus
Smoky-brown Woodpecker
Leuconotopicus fumigatus
Velasquez's Woodpecker
Melanerpes santacruzi
Acorn Woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorus
Black-cheeked Woodpecker
Melanerpes pucherani
Yucatán Woodpecker
Melanerpes pygmaeus
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Sphyrapicus varius
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Dryobates scalaris
Keel-billed Toucan
Ramphastos sulfuratus
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Golden-olive Woodpecker in Tikal National Park?
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-olive Woodpecker sighting in Tikal National Park, based on 376 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Golden-olive Woodpecker in Tikal National Park?
June has the highest sighting rate for Golden-olive Woodpecker in Tikal National Park in our monthly data.