Picus canus
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on John Cox's illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-headed Woodpecker sighting in Fertő-Hanság National Park on a given day, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 159th most-seen of the 207 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, April, July, September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-headed Woodpecker in Fertő-Hanság National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, May–June, August, October and December, the lowest months.
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.
18th of 21
Of the 21 parks where we can rate Grey-headed Woodpecker sightings, Fertő-Hanság National Park ranks 18th at under 5%. The best odds are in Jim Corbett National Park (India, about 40%), Royal Manas National Park (Bhutan, about 20%) and Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grey-headed Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Fertő-Hanság National Park (29 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.
