The Hispaniolan woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
Region
Caribbean, Greater Antilles
Typical Environment
Endemic to the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) and several nearby islets. It occupies a wide range of habitats including dry scrub, moist broadleaf forest, pine forest, mangroves, and agricultural areas such as coconut and banana groves. The species is also frequent in rural settlements, parks, and edge habitats. It readily uses palms and other soft-wooded trees for roosting and nesting cavities.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2400 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This species is unusual among woodpeckers for its colonial nesting, with many pairs breeding in the same tree or stand of palms. It adapts well to human-modified landscapes and is common in plantations and rural areas. While it helps control insect pests, it can also damage crops like bananas and coconuts by drilling for food or nest sites.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
undulating with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Unlike most woodpeckers, it often nests colonially with multiple pairs excavating cavities in the same tree, especially palms. Both sexes excavate nest holes and share incubation and chick rearing. Outside breeding, it forms small, noisy groups that forage together and defend core areas around nest trees.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include loud chattering rattles and nasal churrs delivered in rapid sequences. It drums frequently on resonant wood or palm trunks, producing a short, fast roll used in territory advertisement.
Plumage
Back and wings boldly barred black and buff; underparts buffy to yellowish with faint streaking. Crown and nape show red in males, while females typically have red limited to the nape. Face is pale with darker striping; tail mostly dark. Feathers are fairly glossy with crisp barring.
Diet
It feeds on a mix of insects (ants, beetles, caterpillars, larvae), fruits, seeds, and occasional nectar. It gleans from bark and branches, probes into dead wood for larvae, and sometimes sallies to catch flying insects. In agricultural areas it takes cultivated fruits and can tap into bananas or coconuts, occasionally causing crop damage.
Preferred Environment
Most foraging occurs on trunks, large branches, and palm stems from the subcanopy to midstory. It also visits fruiting trees and edges, and readily exploits human-planted palms and orchard trees. Groups often forage together around nesting colonies.
