AIAI reconstruction created with Nano Banana 2 · 1K, grounded in the profile’s documented taxonomy, habitat, natural-history sources, and an open-license visual reference when available. It is an interpretive image, not documentary evidence. Image policy →

Puerto Rican Woodpecker
Carpintero de Puerto Rico
Melanerpes portoricensis
The Puerto Rican woodpecker (Melanerpes portoricensis) is the only woodpecker endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico and is one of the five species of the genus Melanerpes that occur in the Antilles. Furthermore, it is the only resident species of the family Picidae in Puerto Rico. The species is common on the main island of Puerto Rico and rare on the island of Vieques.
Sound archive
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Play: call by David Vander Pluym
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Sound recorded by David Vander Pluym · XC737109 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Visualization by Stichting Xeno-canto voor Natuurgeluiden.
Every recording retains the creator, catalogue number, and license published by Xeno-canto. Metadata via GBIF ↗
Island profile
About the Puerto Rican Woodpecker
The Puerto Rican woodpecker (Melanerpes portoricensis) is the only woodpecker endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico and is one of the five species of the genus Melanerpes that occur in the Antilles. Furthermore, it is the only resident species of the family Picidae in Puerto Rico. The species is common on the main island of Puerto Rico and rare on the island of Vieques.
Conservation
Least Concern
IUCN LC
- Global IUCN
- LC
- Puerto Rico DNER
- No current listing in source crosswalk
- Federal ESA
- No current listing in source crosswalk
- Critical habitat
- Not identified in source crosswalk
Natural history
How it lives
- Habitat
- Dry and moist forest; mangrove; plantations; parks and gardens
- Elevation
- 0–1000 m
- Nest
- Tree cavity · Stump; Pole; Tree
- Clutch
- 1–4 eggs
- Social behavior
- Pairs / family groups; Singly and pairs
Keep exploring
This bird belongs to 10 paths through the atlas.
Evidence trail
Sources, media & further reading
Research note: Traditional endemic







