Puerto Rican Woodpecker
Description
The Puerto Rican woodpecker (Melanerpes portoricensis) is the only woodpecker endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico and is one of the five species of the genus Melanerpes that occur in the Antilles. Furthermore, it is the only resident species of the family Picidae in Puerto Rico. The species is common on the main island of Puerto Rico and rare on the island of Vieques.
The Puerto Rican woodpecker has a black body and a bright red throat and breast. It has a white patch that runs across the head from eye to eye. Its flanks and lower body have a light tangerine coloration. As with the majority of birds sexual dimorphism is present in this species. The males' throat and breast are more brightly colored than the females' with females tending to be all-around duller in coloration. There is also a substantial (~18_) difference in bill length between sexes.
Distribution & Habitat
The Puerto Rican Woodpecker is a common endemic species
in Puerto Rico known to
occur throughout the main
island (Raffaele 1989a), and it
is fairly common in Vieques
(Gemmill 2015). This species
is more common in hills and
lowlands associated with forests,
mangroves, and shade coffee
plantations, but it also occurs in
palm groves, parks, gardens, and
woodlots, from the coast to the
mountains (Oberle 2018, Raffaele
1989a). The atlas fieldwork
yielded a total of 814 records
within 388 hexagons or 81
percent of the 479 total hexagons (see map). Of the 388 hexagons
where this species was found,
breeding met the atlas definition
of confirmed in 24 percent (93)
of the hexagons, probable in
39 percent (153), and possible
in 37 percent (142) (see map
and table). Puerto Rican Woodpecker distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life
zones in Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.
Breeding Habits
Previously published reports indicate that the Puerto Rican
Woodpecker excavates cavities
in high trees or palms in January
or February and lays eggs later,
followed by fl edglings reported
from late March to June (Toms
2010). Old or abandoned nests
are sometimes used by other 181Puerto Rican Woodpecker/Carpintero de Puerto Ricocavity-nesting species such as the American Kestrel (Falco
sparverius), the Caribbean
Martin (Progne dominicensis),
and the Puerto Rican Flycatcher
(Myiarchus antillarum)
(J.A. Salguero-Faría, personal
observation 2009). Atlas results
indicate that the woodpecker
breeding season extends
throughout the year but is more
active from March to June, with
a peak in May (see chart). This
seasonal pattern of woodpecker
breeding appears to coincide in
each of the life zones with no
evidence to suggest breeding times differ among the life zones.
Results show that the Puerto
Rican Woodpecker mostly breeds
within the subtropical moist
forest life zone (61 percent of
the hexagons). Breeding for this
species was also reported for
the subtropical wet and lower
montane wet forest life zones
(22 percent of the hexagons), the
subtropical dry forest life zone
(17 percent of the hexagons),
and for only one hexagon
(1 percent of the hexagons) in
the subtropical rain and lower
montane rain forest life zones
(see table and map).
Conservation
The Puerto Rican Woodpecker exhibits a stable population
within its distribution range, and
it is listed as a species of least
concern by the IUCN (BirdLife
International 2016). Locally, this
species is not listed in any of the
threatened categories of PRDNER
and USFWS. In Puerto Rico,
the Puerto Rican Woodpecker
has a protected habitat in land
of 13 percent or 1167 km2 of the total area covered by the
hexagons where evidence of
breeding was found for this
species (9255 km2).
Related Species
Family:
woodpecker