White Woodpecker

The White Woodpecker stands out among its family for its predominantly pale plumage, a stark contrast to the typically black, barred, or dark-toned bodies of most woodpeckers. It occupies open savanna, palm groves, and gallery forest edges across central South America.

Its white body plumage set against black wings and back, along with a patch of bare yellow skin around the eye, gives it one of the most distinctive silhouettes among South American woodpeckers, often seen in small social groups.

• Body: mostly white overall, unusual for a woodpecker
• Wings and back: solid black, contrasting sharply with the white body
• Face: patch of bare yellow skin around the eye
• Crown: black in both sexes, without a red patch typical of many woodpeckers
• Vs. other Melanerpes woodpeckers: the largely white body plumage is unique in the genus, immediately separating it from barred or brown-backed relatives

Sexes are similar, both showing the same white body and black wing-and-back pattern; there is little sexual dimorphism in this species compared to many other woodpeckers. Juveniles are duller and can show some brownish wash on the white areas before their first molt.

Found across savanna, palm groves, gallery forest edges, and adjacent open country in central South America, including parts of Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northern Argentina. It is a non-migratory resident, often encountered in small flocks moving between feeding areas.

Forages in a varied manner, taking insects from bark as well as fruit and palm nuts, and is often seen perched conspicuously in the open rather than clinging tightly to trunks like many woodpeckers. It is a social species, frequently found in small groups outside the breeding season. Nest cavities are excavated in dead trees or palm trunks, and its calls include harsh chattering notes given from perches or in flight.