Yungipicus moluccensis
Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The Sunda pygmy woodpecker (Yungipicus moluccensis), also known as the Sunda woodpecker, is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Some taxonomic authorities continue to place this species in the genus Dendrocopos or Picoides.
The Sunda pygmy woodpecker was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other woodpeckers in the genus Picus and coined the binomial name Picus moluccensis. Gmelin based his description on "Le petit épeiche brun des Moluques" that had been described in 1780 by the French polymath Comte de Buffon in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. The locality was originally specified as the Maluku Islands. This was an error and has been corrected to the state of Malacca in Malaysia. The Sunda pygmy woodpecker is now one of seven species placed in the genus Yungipicus that was introduced in 1854 by Charles Lucien Bonaparte.
Two subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Komodo National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Bali Barat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 6 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 7 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 8 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Johor Bahru | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 4 | Kuching | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Yogyakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 6 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Denpasar | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker sighting in Gunung Leuser National Park on a given day, based on 42 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 56th most-seen of the 166 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.
June and December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker in Gunung Leuser National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–March and October, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
3rd of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker sightings, Gunung Leuser National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Way Kambas National Park (Indonesia, about 40%) and Komodo National Park (Indonesia, about 20%).
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker that you can see in Gunung Leuser National Park (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Crimson-winged Woodpecker (about 20%), Banded Woodpecker (about 10%) and Rufous Piculet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Gunung Leuser National Park (42 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.
