Crimson-mantled Woodpecker

Colaptes rivolii

The crimson-mantled woodpecker (Colaptes rivolii) is a bird species in the woodpecker family (Picidae). It was formerly placed in the genus Piculus but moved to the genus Colaptes after mitochondrial DNA sequencing. Its scientific name, rivolii, honors French ornithologist François Victor Masséna, second Duke of Rivoli and third Prince of Essling.The sex of the species can be determined by the crown and malar. The males carry a dark red malar with a red crown, while the females have both a black malar and crown. Breeding times are largely unknown, with different scientific reports spotting nests from January all the way to November. Its diet consists of arthropods such as ants, a spider, a millipede, and beetle larvae, along with fruits such as melastomes and rubiacs (going out of its way to avoid the invasive gorse). Its foraging behavior is to search for prey along moss- and lichen-covered trees, leaf stems, rotting trunks, and on the ground in small clearings.