Hoffmann's woodpecker

Species of bird

Hoffmann's woodpecker (Melanerpes hoffmannii) is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Honduras south to Costa Rica.

Hoffmann's woodpecker was originally described in genus Centurus. Some authors have treated it as a subspecies of the golden fronted woodpecker (M. aurifrons), and the two hybridize in the north of Hoffmann's range. Hoffmann's also hybridizes with the red crowned woodpecker (M. rubricapilus) in the south. Hoffmann's woodpecker is monotypic. The species inhabits dry and deciduous forests and more open areas such as shade coffee plantations, urban parks, and house gardens. In elevation it ranges from sea level to in Honduras, to in Nicaragua, and to more than in Costa Rica.

Hoffmann's woodpecker is a year round resident throughout its range.

Hoffmann's woodpecker typically forages from the forest understory to its canopy, though it has been observed feeding on the ground. Its diet is mostly arthropods that it extracts from decaying trunks and branches. It also feeds on a variety of fruits and takes nectar from large flowers. It occasionally eats the eggs of other birds.

The breeding season of Hoffmann's woodpecker spans at least from January to July and typically two broods are raised. Both sexes excavate the nest cavity in soft dead wood, living palms, or fence posts. The cavity is typically between above the ground, and both sexes aggressively defend it from other Hoffmann's woodpeckers and tityras. The clutch size is two or three eggs. Both parents incubate the clutch and provision nestlings. The incubation period and time to fledging are not known.

The most common Hoffmann's woodpecker call is "churrr", made by both sexes. They also make "a querulous, grating, woick a woick a woick a or wicka wicka wicka." The species usually drums on dead wood but has been observed drumming on metal structures.

The IUCN has assessed Hoffmann's woodpecker as being of Least Concern. It has a large range and its estimated population of at least 50,000 mature individuals is believed to be increasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It has "increased its distribution in recent years due in part to deforestation following growing human colonization" but "[e]limination of dead trees negatively affects the population of this species, by limit[ing] the nesting substrates."