Picus erythropygius
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on John Cox's illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The black-headed woodpecker (Picus erythropygius) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It typically inhabits deciduous and coniferous forests and is found in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The black-headed woodpecker is a medium-sized bird at around 33 cm tall and 100-135g. Adult birds have very distinct plumage and have a black face, yellow throat, green wings, a red lower back, and a white stomach. They also have white/yellow eyes and some individuals have a thin white line from their eye to their neck. Males have a red crown, while females have a completely black crown with no red. Juveniles are less pigmented than adults and juvenile males have fewer red crown feathers on their heads.
The black-headed woodpecker is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae and the genus Picus. They have been considered to be most closely related to the European green woodpecker (P. viridis) and the grey-headed woodpecker (P. canus). However, recent studies have challenged this original phylogenetic relationship.
There are two recognized subspecies of the black-headed woodpecker: Picus erythropygius nigrigenis (Hume, 1874... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Woodpecker sighting in Doi Inthanon National Park on a given day, based on 181 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 171st most-seen of the 367 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March, May–June, October and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Woodpecker in Doi Inthanon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, April, July–September and November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-headed 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.
Only Doi Inthanon National Park, in our data
Doi Inthanon National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Black-headed Woodpecker sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-headed Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Doi Inthanon National Park (181 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.
