White-backed Woodpecker

White-backed Woodpecker

Dendrocopos leucotos

Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Sapporo

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

50 Verified sightings at Sapporo
699 In all 7 parks From 2019 to 2026
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the White-backed Woodpecker

The white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) is a Eurasian woodpecker belonging to the genus Dendrocopos. The white-backed woodpecker was described by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802 under the binomial name Picus leucotos. The specific epithet leucotos combines the Classical Greek leukos meaning "white" and -nōtos meaning "-backed". The type locality is Silesia, a historical region mainly located in Poland. The species is now placed in the genus Dendrocopos that was introduced by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch in 1816.

Twelve subspecies are recognised. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Pecking0:24

Sweden · 2026

© Lars Edenius · XC1085637 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Drumming1:18

Sweden · 2025

© Mathias Bergström · XC979104 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:27

Estonia · 2022

© Uku Paal · XC719599 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~30%
2 Plitvice Lakes National Park 🇭🇷 Croatia
~20%
3 Nikko National Park 🇯🇵 Japan
~10%
4 Taroko National Park 🇹🇼 Taiwan
~10%
5 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
<5%
6 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
<5%
7 Gauja National Park 🇱🇻 Latvia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Novosibirsk 🇷🇺 Russia
~30%
2 Kazan 🇷🇺 Russia
~20%
3 Sapporo 🇯🇵 Japan
~10%
4 Moscow 🇷🇺 Russia
~10%
5 Daejeon 🇰🇷 South Korea
~10%
6 Busan 🇰🇷 South Korea
~10%
7 Yekaterinburg 🇷🇺 Russia
<5%
8 Saint Petersburg 🇷🇺 Russia
<5%
9 Seoul 🇰🇷 South Korea
<5%
10 Helsinki 🇫🇮 Finland
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a White-backed Woodpecker in Sapporo?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-backed Woodpecker sighting in Sapporo on a given day, based on 50 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 27th most-seen of the 72 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a White-backed Woodpecker in Sapporo?

January

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a White-backed Woodpecker in Sapporo on a given day, against under 5% in August, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a White-backed Woodpecker?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-backed Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Sapporo the best place to see a White-backed Woodpecker?

3rd of 11

Of the 11 cities where we can rate White-backed Woodpecker sightings, Sapporo ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Novosibirsk (Russia, about 30%) and Kazan (Russia, about 20%).

Where does the White-backed Woodpecker sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the White-backed Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Sapporo (50 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.

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