Day 98: Puerto Rican Woodpecker

The Puerto Rican Woodpecker is one bird I wish I would have seen up close, but it wasn't meant to be. Jared and I saw the woodpecker, which is endemic to the island, on our first day (we were driving around a small town and spotted one on a pole).

Later, I also heard a woodpecker thumping from the porch of the house we were staying at. There was a very sharp incline to the trees behind the house, but I managed to shimmy down with the hopes of spotting it. Sure enough, I found it thumping away on a tree, but was only able to get so-so photos before it flew off. Those were my only two encounters with the woodpecker on our trip, unfortunately.

The Puerto Rican Woodpecker is striking and looks very different than most of the woodpeckers we're used to seeing in the U.S. It has a black body with a bright red throat and breast, along with a white patch that runs across the head from eye to eye.