Bird Guide

Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker vs White-backed Woodpecker

Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos macei)

Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker

Dendrocopos macei

Small45 gForest

A medium-sized, pied woodpecker. Upperparts black, heavily barred white. Undertail red, breast and belly buff with light flank barring and slight side streaking. Withish cheeks partly bordered by black line. Crown red in male with orange forehead, black in female.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker
Recorded by Sudipto Roy · Narendrapur, West Bengal, India, India · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: nbu2012 · CC BY 2.0
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos)

White-backed Woodpecker

Dendrocopos leucotos

Medium117 gForest

It is the largest of the spotted woodpeckers in the western Palearctic, 24–26 cm long with wing-span 38–40 cm. The plumage is similar to the great spotted woodpecker, but with white bars across the wings rather than spots, and a white lower back. The male has a red crown, the female a black one. Drumming by males is very loud, calls include a soft kiuk and a longer kweek.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the White-backed Woodpecker
Recorded by Nikita Panfilov · Uncertain · Mednoe, Kalininsky District, Tver Oblast, Russian Federation · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Andrew Bazdyrev · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker and White-backed Woodpecker.