Picus canus
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on John Cox's illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The grey-headed woodpecker (Picus canus), also known as the grey-faced woodpecker, is a Eurasian member of the woodpecker family, Picidae. Along with the more commonly found European green woodpecker and the Iberian green woodpecker, it is one of three closely related species found in Europe. Its distribution also stretches across large parts of the central and Eastern Palaearctic, all the way to the Pacific Ocean and south to the Himalaya and the Malay Peninsula.
The grey-headed woodpecker is more demanding than the European green woodpecker in terms of its habitat. It prefers deciduous forest with a high proportion of dead trees, feeding primarily on ants, although not being as exclusively dependent on this group as the green woodpecker. The grey-headed woodpecker's nest is typically excavated into dead or severely damaged trees.
In the majority of areas for which population numbers are available, the grey-headed woodpecker is in decline. IUCN's Least Concern rating is primarily based on the large distribution of the species. The grey-headed woodpecker was formally described by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788 in the 13th edition of the Systema... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 3 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 4 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 5 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 6 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 7 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Jiuzhaigou National Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 9 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 10 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 13 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 14 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 15 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 16 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 17 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 18 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 19 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 20 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 21 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wildwald Voßwinkel | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Alpenzoo Innsbruck | 🇦🇹 Austria |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-headed Woodpecker sighting in Beijing on a given day, based on 3,821 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 13th most-seen of the 324 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and November–December
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-headed Woodpecker in Beijing on a given day, against about 40% in June and October, the lowest months. Those are among Beijing's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain a month against 150 mm in July.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grey-headed Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 34 cities where we can rate Grey-headed Woodpecker sightings, Beijing has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Luoyang (China, about 30%) and Seoul (South Korea, about 30%).
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Grey-headed Woodpecker that you can see in Beijing (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Great Spotted Woodpecker (about 60%) and Grey-capped Woodpecker (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grey-headed Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Beijing (3,821 verified sightings), 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.
