Jamaican Woodpecker

Melanerpes radiolatus (Wagler, 1827)

Jamaican Woodpecker, Melanerpes radiolatus, is a woodpecker found throughout Jamaica in the Caribbean. It is resident all year and occurs from sea level to the island’s highest mountains. It uses many wooded habitats, including rainforest, wet forest, mangroves, wooded pasture, plantations and gardens. It is most numerous in secondary mesophytic forest. The species is endemic to Jamaica. Its plumage is similar in both sexes, but the head pattern differs, with males showing more red on the crown and hindneck and females having a grey crown with red limited to the hindcrown and hindneck.

Order

Piciformes

Family

Picidae — Woodpeckers

Breeding range

North America: Jamaica