The Lita woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador.
Region
Chocó biogeographic region (W Colombia and NW Ecuador)
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland and foothill evergreen rainforests, including mature primary forest and well-developed secondary growth. It favors humid, densely vegetated slopes and ravines and often uses edges and forest gaps with large standing trees. Birds typically forage on trunks and substantial limbs from the understory up to the canopy. It may persist in selectively logged forests if enough large trees remain.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1400 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Lita woodpecker is a Chocó-region specialist of humid forests in western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. It often forages quietly from the midstory to the canopy, where its greenish, bronzy plumage blends with mossy trunks. Like many woodpeckers, it communicates with sharp calls and rapid drumming rolls. Ongoing deforestation in the Chocó likely affects its populations.
Temperament
shy and inconspicuous
Flight Pattern
undulating flight with short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs; occasionally joins mixed-species flocks while foraging. Pairs excavate nest cavities in dead or decaying wood, and both sexes are believed to share incubation and chick-rearing duties. Territorial drumming and calls are used to maintain contact and advertise territories.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are sharp, repeated notes and short rattling series, often given from within the canopy. Drumming is a rapid, even roll on resonant limbs used for communication and territorial display.
