Pale-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus guatemalensis guatemalensis)
26 January 2009, Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica
This was a very distant record shot.
This large, spectacular woodpecker is in the same genus as the near mythic
Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis).
This is a male with the entire head and crest red. Females are similar but
have a black crest. This species has seriously declined in areas where the
forests have been cut.
Three races recognized, this being the most southerly, but differences are
slight.
Panasonic DMC-LZ5 / Nikon FieldScope 3 / 30X WA hand-held (no adapter)