Picoides tridactylus
Silhouette: Gareth Monger · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The Eurasian three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus) is a medium-sized woodpecker that is found from northern Europe across northern Asia to Japan. The Eurasian three-toed woodpecker was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He coined the binomial name Picus tridactylus. The type locality is Sweden. The specific epithet is from the Ancient Greek tridaktulos meaning "three-toed" (tri- is "three-" and daktulos is toe). The species is now placed in the genus Picoides that was introduced by the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799. The Eurasian three-toed woodpecker was formerly considered conspecific with the American three-toed woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis).
Eight subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 3 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 2 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker sighting in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, based on 50 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 123rd most-seen of the 170 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, July and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–June, August–September and November–December, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker sightings, Bavarian Forest National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 20%), Tatra National Park (Slovakia, about 10%) and Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatia, under 5%).
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker that you can see in Bavarian Forest National Park (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Great Spotted Woodpecker (about 50%), Black Woodpecker (about 20%) and Green Woodpecker (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Bavarian Forest National Park (50 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
