I finally reworked these seven shots of a pair of Magellanic Woodpeckers I spotted at the edge of forest during an extended 2013 visit to Patagonia. It remains one of my most vivid birding experiences, chasing them after catching them in the act of drumming and pecking along the Fitz Roy Trail in Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park near El Chalten. They were big and they were loud. And I’ll be forever grateful to have them in my personal bird collection.

At 36 to 45 centimeters (14 to 18 inches) long, the Magellanic Woodpecker, or Campephilus magellanicus is the largest woodpecker in South America, one of the largest in the Americas, and found only in Patagonian forests of southern Argentina and Chile. The male, at top, has a head of fiery red with a short crest, sort of like a short raging mohawk you might see on a Sex Pistols t-shirt. The female, below, has a black head with a curly crest and a red patch at the base of her beak.  They’re great climbers, thanks to their curved claws and rigid feathers in their tails. The distinctive white pattern on their back is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in the wild.

I was thrilled to come across them twice on this particular hike, a day trip on the Fitz Roy Trail from El Chalten, Argentina, both on the ascent and descent to and from Laguna Capri and the Poincenot Camp near the base of Fitz Roy, arguably the most recognized peak in the Andes. Magellanic Woodpeckers aren’t shy, allowing you to get fairly close. The one at top was playful, too, allowing me just enough time to nearly catch up before soaring to the next dry tree.

From a technical standpoint, I’m not terribly thrilled with any of the shots –most here are cropped fairly close. My setting were way off when I hurried to get a few shots of the female in the morning, and much of the best light was gone when I crossed paths with the male later in the day. It’s unlikely that I’ll ever come across these beautiful beasts again, so I decided to come back and pad out this mini gallery with my lucky (to have) seven.

Photos taken on 11 February 2013.

Still Magellanic woodpecker-curious? Some related links for future reference or further exploration:

• Magellanic Woodpecker profile at Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World platform
• Magellanic woodpecker status update from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species (least concern 2024)
• Magellanic woodpecker at Avibase
• Magellanic woodpecker on Wikipedia
• Profile from BirdLife DataZone
• Profile from Oiseaux.net
• A selection of Magellanic woodpecker videos from Photos, videos and call and song recordings from eBird.

Six more shots of this wonderful creature below. Enjoy!

Note: This post originally appeared on my blog, Piran Café, which is no longer being updated, and was moved here on 29 October 2020. Photos reprocessed and published on 12 July 2025.