Birds of the World


Chestnut-colored Woodpecker (Celeus castaneus) Male Range: MA: se Mexico to w Panama Laguna Lagarto Lodge, Boca Tapada, Costa Rica Note red cheek on male.
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.


Chestnut Woodpecker (Celeus elegans elegans) Male Range: SA: n, Amazonia Manaus, Brazil Chestnut Woodpeckers in northeast South America (north of the Amazon including Trinidad) have a blonde crest.
Photograph by Anselmo d'Affonseca © All Rights Reserved.


Chestnut Woodpecker (Celeus elegans citreopygius) Male Range: SA: n, Amazonia Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Chestnut Woodpecker (Celeus elegans jumanus) Female Range: SA: n, Amazonia Mocoa, Putumayo, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

'Celeus' are medium-sized stocky woodpeckers found inside the forest.


Blond-crested Woodpecker (Celeus flavescens flavescens) Range: SA: e, se Bertioga, São Paulo, Brazil A large woodpecker.
Photograph by Hector Bottai Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0). In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it under this or a similar cc-by-sa license.


Cream-colored Woodpecker (Celeus flavus flavus) Male Range: SA: Amazonia and se Brazil Mocoa, Putumayo, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Cream-colored Woodpecker (Celeus flavus flavus) Female Range: SA: Amazonia and se Brazil Puerto Nariño, Amazonas, Colombia As with most woodpeckers, the male has a little (more) red on the head.
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

Male at nest.


Helmeted Woodpecker (Celeus galeatus) Male Vulnerable Range: SA: se Brazil, e Paraguay and ne Argentina Intervales State Park, São Paulo state, Brazil
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas) © All Rights Reserved.


Cinnamon Woodpecker (Celeus loricatus mentalis) Male Range: MA, SA: e Nicaragua to sw Ecuador Soberania National Park, Panama
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

Often but not always in the canopy. Note distinctive call.


Pale-crested Woodpecker (Celeus lugubris) Male Range: SA: sc Piuval, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Photograph by Bruno Conjeaud © All Rights Reserved.


Pale-crested Woodpecker (Celeus lugubris) Female Range: SA: sc Pousada Piuval, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas) © All Rights Reserved.


Kaempfer's Woodpecker (Celeus obrieni) Male Vulnerable Range: SA: e Brazil Dois Irmãos do Tocantins, TO, Brazil
Photograph by Rodrigo Conte © All Rights Reserved.

Recently rediscovered, and most closely related to the Rufous-headed Woodpecker. Associated with bamboo (Wikipedia).


Ochre-backed Woodpecker (Celeus ochraceus) Male Range: SA: e Brazil Parque Estadual do Cantão, Caseara, Brazil
Photograph by Rodrigo Conte © All Rights Reserved.

The Ochre-backed Woodpecker was split from the Blond-crested Woodpecker in 2015 because of DNA analysis. It is smaller and has darker orange-buff plumage on the head (Wikipedia).


Rufous-headed Woodpecker (Celeus spectabilis spectabilis) Range: SA: w Amazonia Reserva Natural Escondite, Putumayo, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

Rare and local, and found in varzea and riparian forest (Ridgely). Usually with tall bamboo, and communicates with a fast 'drumming'.


Ringed Woodpecker (Celeus torquatus) Near Threatened Range: SA: Amazonia and se Brazil Brazil The very different torquatus race with no barring on belly.
Photograph by João Sérgio Barros F. de Souza © All Rights Reserved.


Ringed Woodpecker (Celeus torquatus) Male Near Threatened Range: SA: Amazonia and se Brazil Vale Natural Reserve, Linhares, ES, Brazil
Photograph by Hector Bottai Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0). In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it under this or a similar cc-by-sa license.


Ringed Woodpecker (Celeus torquatus) Female Near Threatened Range: SA: Amazonia and se Brazil Ecuador
Photograph by Tony Dawe © All Rights Reserved.

Perhaps the most difficult to find in the genus celeus. Note black chest on all races. Male and female similar except red malar mark. The northeast South American subspecies has no barring on belly and is sometimes considered a distinct species.


Waved Woodpecker (Celeus undatus undatus) Female Range: SA: e Venezuela to ne Brazil Imitaca Forest (Rio Grande), Bolívar state, Venezuela
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas) © All Rights Reserved.


Waved Woodpecker (Celeus undatus) Female Range: SA: e Venezuela to ne Brazil Manacapuru, Amazonas, Brasil
Photograph by Hector Bottai Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0). In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it under this or a similar cc-by-sa license.

Now merged with the Scaly-breasted Woodpecker, which was found south of the Amazon River.