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White-backed Woodpecker

Dendrocopos leucotos

Not Evaluated · IUCN Red List

NENot EvaluatedInvertebratesForestCavity nestMedium · 117 g
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), photo 1
Photo: Andrew Bazdyrev · CC BY 4.0
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), photo 2
Photo: Andrew Bazdyrev · CC BY 4.0
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), photo 3
Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), photo 4
Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), photo 5
Photo: Fyodor Pudovikov · CC BY 4.0
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), photo 6
Photo: Fyodor Pudovikov · CC BY 4.0
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), photo 7
Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), photo 8
Photo: Fyodor Pudovikov · CC BY 4.0
White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), photo 9
Photo: Fyodor Pudovikov · CC BY 4.0

What the White-backed Woodpecker sounds like

Sonogram of the White-backed Woodpecker: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Nikita Panfilov · Uncertain · Mednoe, Kalininsky District, Tver Oblast, Russian Federation · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the White-backed Woodpecker

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the White-backed Woodpecker

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 37 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Norway Finland Taiwan Russia South Korea Japan France Poland Sweden Estonia China Spain Türkiye Germany Hungary Austria Slovakia Ukraine Belarus Mongolia Latvia Czechia Greece Croatia Bulgaria Lithuania Romania Italy Georgia Montenegro Serbia North Macedonia Slovenia Albania Switzerland Bosnia & Herzegovina Kazakhstan

Recorded as a rare visitor in North Korea, Kosovo.

About the White-backed Woodpecker

The white-backed woodpecker is a Eurasian woodpecker belonging to the genus Dendrocopos.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos macei) Fulvous-breasted WoodpeckerDendrocopos maceiA medium-sized, pied woodpecker. Freckle-breasted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos analis) Freckle-breasted WoodpeckerDendrocopos analisA medium-sized, pied woodpecker. Himalayan Woodpecker (Dendrocopos himalayensis) Himalayan WoodpeckerDendrocopos himalayensisA medium-sized, pied woodpecker reaching a length of about 24 cm (9 in).

Side by side: Great Spotted Woodpecker vs White-backed Woodpecker · Syrian Woodpecker vs White-backed Woodpecker · Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker vs White-backed Woodpecker · Freckle-breasted Woodpecker vs White-backed Woodpecker · Himalayan Woodpecker vs White-backed Woodpecker

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