The Guadeloupe woodpecker or Tapeur is a species of bird in the woodpecker family Picidae belonging to the genus Melanerpes. Endemic to the Guadeloupe archipelago in the Lesser Antilles, it is a medium-sized forest woodpecker with entirely black plumage and red-to-purple reflections on its stomach. It lives mainly in the islands' tropical rainforest areas. The woodpecker has no sexual dimorphism. The species has adapted under the pressure of urbanization to more open forest environments.
Region
Lesser Antilles (Guadeloupe)
Typical Environment
It occurs throughout the main islands of Guadeloupe, especially in moist tropical forests on Basse-Terre. The species favors mature forest with abundant dead or decaying wood for foraging and nesting. It also uses secondary forests, forest edges, shade plantations, and urban parks where large trees remain. Mangrove edges and coastal woodland are visited where suitable trees occur. Availability of standing dead trunks is a key factor influencing local density.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1400 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Locally called the Tapeur, it is the only woodpecker native to the Guadeloupe archipelago and shows virtually no sexual dimorphism. Its uniform black plumage with a bluish to purplish sheen is unique among Caribbean woodpeckers. By excavating nest cavities in dead wood, it creates important habitat for other cavity‑nesting wildlife. Although primarily a forest bird, it has adapted to secondary growth, plantations, and even gardens with mature trees.
Guadeloupe woodpecker at the entrance to its nest.
Typical woodpecker skull, showing (in red) the elongation and attachments of the hyoid apparatus, forming at its tip the tongue of the bird.
![Diagram of a Melanerpes herminieri nest, with observed average section sizes, from Villard (1999).[31]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Nest_of_Melanerpes_herminieri.jpg/640px-Nest_of_Melanerpes_herminieri.jpg)
Diagram of a Melanerpes herminieri nest, with observed average section sizes, from Villard (1999).[31]
The tropical rainforest in the southeast of Basse-Terre is the preferred habitat of the Guadeloupe woodpecker.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
undulating with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Typically encountered singly or in pairs, especially during the breeding season. Pairs excavate nest cavities in dead trunks or large branches and defend territories vigorously. Both parents incubate and feed the young, which fledge from the cavity after several weeks.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Calls are sharp, metallic keks and rattling chatters delivered repeatedly. Drumming is a rapid, resonant roll on hollow wood used for territorial advertisement.
