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Variable Woodpecker | Celeus undatus
Geschubde specht | Carpintero ondulado | Pica-pau-barrado
The Variable Woodpecker is a medium-sized, rufous Celeus woodpecker with dense black barring, found throughout the Amazonian lowlands. In the current treatment the species includes forms formerly regarded as separate species, among them the dark, pale-headed birds of the foothills of Ecuador and northern Peru. A pale rump stands out when the bird flies off.
Voice
A loud, nasal series of a few notes, kwee-kwee-kwee, and a two-syllabled call wick-a. It drums in short bursts.
Recording: JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
21–23 cm, with a shaggy crest and a straight, yellowish bill. The head and crest are rufous, the rest of the body chestnut with dense black bars on the back, wings and breast; the belly is paler, with black scales or bars. The rump and lower back are pale yellow to buff. The tail is blackish. The male has a red malar stripe, the female does not. Birds of the foothills of Ecuador and northern Peru are darker, with a contrasting pale, buff head and yellowish flanks.
Confusion species
Chestnut Woodpecker Celeus elegans is larger and plain chestnut, without dense barring, and has a yellow rump and flanks. Ringed Woodpecker Celeus torquatus is larger, with a pale head and a broad black breast band. Rufous-headed Woodpecker Celeus spectabilis has a black breast and a creamy white, black-spotted belly. Cream-colored Woodpecker Celeus flavus is entirely creamy yellow.
Habitat
Humid terra firme lowland forest, várzea, forest edges and tall secondary forest, mainly in the canopy and middle levels, from the lowlands to about 1200 m. It eats mainly ants and termites and also fruit, and often joins mixed flocks. It nests in a self-excavated cavity in a tree.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
In Colombia in the lowlands east of the Andes, mainly in Amazonia. In Ecuador in the eastern lowlands and foothills. In Peru throughout the Amazonian lowlands and on the lower eastern slope. In Bolivia in the northern lowlands. Absent west of the Andes and from the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in southern Venezuela, the Guianas and Amazonian Brazil.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Follow mixed canopy flocks in Amazonian forest and watch for a medium-sized, rufous woodpecker with a pale rump. The nasal call series often gives it away.
Conservation status
Least Concern. The species has a large range and tolerates forest edges and tall secondary forest.
Scientific name
Celeus undatus | (Linnaeus, 1766)
Linnaeus described the species in 1766 as Picus undatus; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Celeus was introduced in 1831 by Boie. The genus name comes from Greek keleos, the name for a green woodpecker. The species name comes from Latin undatus, 'wavy', for the wavy barring. The specimen the first description was based on came from Suriname.