thumb|Velasquez's woodpecker male on wild papaya
thumb|Golden-fronted woodpecker, race polygrammus, Belize
The golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons) is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in the southern United States (mostly Texas), Mexico and parts of Central America.
Taxonomy and systematics
The golden-fronted woodpecker was formally described in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler under the binomial name Picus aurifrons. The specific epithet combines the Latin aurum, auri meaning "gold" with frons, frontis meaning "forehead", "brow" or "front". The type locality is the state of Hidalgo in south central Mexico. The golden-fronted woodpecker is now one of the 23 species placed in the genus Melanerpes that was introduced by the English ornithologist William Swainson in 1832.
Twelve subspecies are recognised, many of which are restricted to islands.
thumb|left|Male in flight, Texas
Description
The golden-fronted woodpecker is long and weighs . Males and females have the same plumage except for the pattern on their heads. Adult males have a red crown and a golden orange to yellow nape with a gap between them; females have a grayish crown and a paler yellow nape. On adults of both sexes the rest of the head is various shades of gray. Their upperparts are mostly barred black and white, with white uppertail coverts that have a few black spots. Their flight feathers are black with variable amounts of white on the primaries. Their tail is mostly black with variable amounts of white on the outermost three pairs of feathers. Their underparts are smoke gray to drab gray with light blackish bars on the flanks and undertail coverts and a yellow patch on the belly. Their iris is deep red to reddish brown, their bill is black to grayish black, and their legs and feet are grayish green to greenish gray. Juveniles are duller overall than adults, with little or no orange on the nape, indistinct barring on the upperparts, and fine dusky streaks on the underparts. Males have a small red crown patch and females just a few red feathers there.
Distribution and habitat
The golden-fronted woodpecker is found from southwestern Oklahoma through central Texas onto the Mexican Plateau as far as Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, and Hidalgo. It is a casual visitor to New Mexico and East Texas, and has been recorded once each in Michigan and Florida.
Behavior
Movement
The golden-fronted woodpecker is a year-round resident throughout its range.
Status
The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so has not assessed the golden-fronted woodpecker separately from Velasquez's woodpecker. The golden-fronted woodpecker sensu lato is considered to be of Least Concern, with a stable population.