Pale-headed Woodpecker

Pale-headed Woodpecker

Gecinulus grantia

Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Cat Tien National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

202 Verified sightings at Cat Tien National Park From 2019 to 2026
405 In all 3 parks
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Pale-headed Woodpecker

The pale-headed woodpecker (Gecinulus grantia) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is a bamboo specialist, and a montane bird.

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2017 found that the pale-headed woodpecker was embedded within the genus Dinopium and was a sister species to the olive-backed woodpecker (Dinopium rafflesii). Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:18

Vietnam · 2026

© Ding Li Yong · XC1106709 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Drumming0:40

India · 2024

© Lars Lachmann · XC892489 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:29

Vietnam · 2010

© Hans Matheve · XC156781 · CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%
2 Royal Manas National Park 🇧🇹 Bhutan
~10%
3 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Pale-headed Woodpecker in Cat Tien National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pale-headed Woodpecker sighting in Cat Tien National Park on a given day, based on 202 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 100th most-seen of the 244 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Pale-headed Woodpecker in Cat Tien National Park?

February–May and September–October

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Pale-headed Woodpecker in Cat Tien National Park on a given day, against about 10% in June–August and November–January, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Pale-headed Woodpecker?

Between 3 and 6 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pale-headed 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.

Is Cat Tien National Park the best place to see a Pale-headed Woodpecker?

Yes

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Pale-headed Woodpecker sightings, Cat Tien National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan, about 10%) and Namdapha National Park (India, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Pale-headed Woodpecker live in Cat Tien National Park?

Same family: Picidae

The closest relatives of the Pale-headed Woodpecker that you can see in Cat Tien National Park (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Common Flameback (about 40%), Laced Woodpecker (about 40%) and Lesser Yellownape (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Pale-headed Woodpecker sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Pale-headed Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Cat Tien National Park (202 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.

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