Colaptes mexicanoides Lafresnaye, 1844

Common Name and Size

Colaptes mexicanoides, commonly called the Guatemalan flicker, measures 25.9 to 32.9 cm (10 to 13 inches) in length and weighs approximately 115 to 135 g (4.1 to 4.8 ounces).

Sexual Dimorphism

The sexes have nearly identical plumage, differing only in their facial markings: females have a cinnamon "mustache" while males have a bright red one.

Head and Neck Coloration

For adults of both sexes, the crown and nape are colored cinnamon rufous to rufous-chestnut, while the rest of the face, throat, and neck are gray.

Back and Rump Markings

Their back features wide black and light brown barring. The rump and uppertail coverts are white; the rump has some black spots, and the uppertail coverts have black bars.

Tail Appearance

The upper side of the tail is black, while the underside is rufous orange with wide black tips on each feather.

Wing Feather Markings

The bird's scapulars, wing coverts, and secondaries are barred with black and light brown.

Rectrix Coloration

The upper surface of the rectrices is black with orange or red shafts, and the lower surface is orange- or salmon-pink.

Breast and Underpart Markings

A black crescent marking is present on the upper breast. The rest of the underparts are dull white in the center, becoming pale pinkish gray on the sides, with a roundish black spot at the tip of each feather.

Soft Part Morphology

This species has a dark reddish brown iris, a dull brownish black to slaty black bill, and bluish to gray legs and feet.

Geographic Range

The Guatemalan flicker inhabits highlands ranging from Chiapas in Mexico, south through Guatemala and Honduras, into Nicaragua as far as the Matagalpa Department, and it also occurs locally in eastern El Salvador.

Habitat Types

It lives in a wide variety of forest types in the subtropical and temperate zones, including pine forest, pine-oak forest, and broadleaf deciduous forest. It can also be found in cloudforest, scrublands, plantations, and gardens located near forest.

Elevational Range

Its elevational range is between 750 and 4,000 m (2,500 and 13,100 ft).