Yellow-tufted Woodpecker

The yellow-tufted is a small, mostly black woodpecker with a white rump, and an elaborate yellow facial tuft that extends from a yellow eye ring; it also has a red belly. Yellow-tufted woodpeckers are omnivores, primarily consuming fruits and insects. Arthropods that are documented in the diet include ants, centipedes, and spiders. Thirty to fifty per cent of foraging time is spent obtaining fruit.

A Yellow-tufted Woodpecker (Melanerpes cruentatus) at Bounty Farm, Timehri. (Photo by Kester Clarke www.kesterclarke.net)