Celeus flavus (P.L.S.Müller, 1776)

Size

The cream-colored woodpecker (Celeus flavus) is typically 24 to 27 cm (9.4 to 11 inches) long. The nominate subspecies weighs 95 to 131 g (3.4 to 4.6 oz), while subspecies C. f. subflavus weighs approximately 200 g (7.1 oz).

General Plumage

All subspecies are mostly yellowish, with a long crest and a black tail. The yellowish base plumage color ranges from pale creamy yellow to sulfur-yellow across individuals, and is occasionally cinnamon-white.

Sexual Dimorphism

Adult males have a bright red malar stripe, while females have no red plumage in this area.

Adult Soft Parts

Adult individuals have yellowish bills, red or red-brown irises, and dark gray to green-gray legs.

Juvenile Plumage

Juveniles resemble adults, but are typically buffier or have a cinnamon-buff tone.

Subspecies Variation Overview

Subspecies differ mainly in size and wing color.

Nominate Subspecies Wing Features

For the nominate subspecies, flight feathers are brown with extensive rufous-chestnut coloring and black tertials, and wing coverts are most often brown or rufous-brown.

C. f. peruvianus Traits

Subspecies C. f. peruvianus is slightly larger than the nominate, and its flight feathers have mostly brown in place of rufous.

C. f. tectricialis Traits

Subspecies C. f. tectricialis is around the same size as the nominate, with mostly brown wing coverts and much less rufous in the flight feathers.

C. f. subflavus Traits

Subspecies C. f. subflavus is the largest of the four. Much of its body plumage has wide brown bases, its wing coverts have a large amount of yellowish coloring, and its flight feathers have no rufous at all.

Subspecies Distribution Overview

The four recognized subspecies of cream-colored woodpecker have the following distributions.

C. f. flavus Range

C. f. flavus ranges from eastern Colombia east into southwestern and northeastern Venezuela, the Guianas, and northeastern Brazil, and south through eastern Ecuador to northern Bolivia, and west into Brazil as far as Mato Grosso do Sul.

C. f. peruvianus Range

C. f. peruvianus is found in eastern Peru.

C. f. tectricialis Range

C. f. tectricialis is found in Maranhão state in northeastern Brazil.

C. f. subflavus Range

C. f. subflavus is found in eastern and southeastern Brazil, from Alagoas south to Espírito Santo.

Habitat Preferences

The cream-colored woodpecker lives in a variety of humid forest types, most often near water. Habitats include the interior and edges of rainforest, várzea, and swamp forest.

Less Common Habitats

It is less commonly found in gallery forest, mangroves, deciduous and open woodland, and secondary forest. It can also be found in human-altered landscapes such as cacao plantations.

Elevation Range

Most individuals are found at elevations below 400 m (1,300 ft), but the species ranges up to 700 m (2,300 ft).