- Golden-fronted Woodpecker
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Golden-fronted Woodpecker 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Piciformes Family: Picidae Genus: Melanerpes Species: M. aurifrons Binomial name Melanerpes aurifrons
(Wagler, 1829)The Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Melanerpes aurifrons, is a North American woodpecker. Its preferred habitat is mesquite and riparian woodlands. It is distributed from Texas and Oklahoma in the United States through Mexico to Honduras and northern Nicaragua.[2] Cooke listed this species as an abundant resident of the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, in 1884.
Contents
Nesting
Nesting behavior of the golden-fronted is similar to that of the Red-bellied Woodpecker. Tall trees of pecan, oak, and mesquite are the major species used for nesting. Occasionally fence posts, telephone poles, and bird boxes are used.
Diet
The diet of the golden-fronted woodpecker consists of both insects and vegetable matter. Grasshoppers make up more than half of the animal matter and other insects include beetles and ants. Vegetable matter consumed consists of corn, acorns, wild fruits, and berries.
Gallery
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from the Mexican Boundary Survey
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from Roma, Texas
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Subspecies M. aurifrons dubius from the Yucatán.
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2004). Melanerpes aurifrons. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- ^ Husak, Michael S. and Terry C. Maxwell. (1998). Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/373 doi:10.2173/bna.373
- Agriculture Handbook No. 511. November 1977. Forest Service. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Virgil E. Scott, Denver Wildlife Research Center. Keith E. Evans, North Central Forest Experiment Station. David R. Patton, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Charles P. Stone, Denver Wildlife Research Center. Illustrated by Arthur Singer.
External links
- Golden-fronted Woodpecker videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Golden-fronted Woodpecker, a bibliographic resource
- Golden fronted Woodpecker photo gallery VIREO
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Woodpeckers
- Melanerpes
- Birds of Mexico
- Birds of Central America
- Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula region
- Native birds of the Plains-Midwest (United States)
- Birds of the U.S. Rio Grande Valleys
- Birds of the United States
- Native birds of Eastern Mexico
- Birds of Belize
- Birds of Guatemala
- Birds of El Salvador
- Birds of Honduras
- Birds of Nicaragua
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