Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Description:

This guy, along with a Mockingbird, have been eating from our Texas Persimmon Tree daily. This is a male because of the red cap. The females lack the red cap but have the orange nape.

Habitat:

Southwestern Oklahoma through Texas and Mexico as far south as northern Nicaragua. They forage at all levels in trees and on the ground where they search for insects. Acorns, pecans, wild fruits, citrus, whole corn and cornmeal, and even dog food are eaten (Bent 1939, Casto 1973). Breeding habitat: Both live and dead trees are used for nesting as well as fence posts, utility poles, and artificial nest boxes. Old growth mesquite is preferred but nests have been found in such diverse species as pecan, live oak, anaqua, willow and hackberry

Notes:

The Golden-fronted Woodpecker was described in 1829 from a specimen collected in Mexico. Its occurrence in Texas was poorly known until Woodhouse (1853) reported it to be abundant around San Antonio. The first color illustration of the species was prepared from birds collected during the early l850s at Eagle Pass and Ringgold Barracks by the United States-Mexican Boundary Survey (Baird l859).