Great Slaty Woodpecker

Great Slaty Woodpecker

Mulleripicus pulverulentus

Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic

LCNTVUVulnerableENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Khao Yai National Park

In 3 days ~10%

47 Verified sightings at Khao Yai National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,342 In all 12 parks
May Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Great Slaty Woodpecker

The great slaty woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus) is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is found across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. A unique and basically unmistakable bird, it is the largest confirmed living woodpecker species, behind the likely extinct imperial woodpecker and ivory-billed woodpecker.

It is found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, ranging across Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It is found in the Greater Sundas, but it does not inhabit Bali.

This species prefers to inhabit areas of primary semi-open, moist deciduous and tropical evergreen forest though can on occasion range into adjacent secondary forests, clearings with scattered tall trees and similar almost park-like areas but do not generally visit heavily disturbed areas. Locally, the great slaty woodpecker prefers sprawling stands of dipterocarp and teak trees. Also found in mature sal forests, swamp forest and mangroves with tall, mature trees. The species usually occurs below an elevation of 600 m (2,000 ft), but also locally in montane... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Duet1:03

Malaysia · 2025

© Ding Li Yong · XC1010074 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call1:19

China · 2024

© Dave GUO · XC973638 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:48

Thailand · 2024

© Greg Irving · XC953620 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~30%
2 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
3 Taman Negara National Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
4 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
5 Jim Corbett National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
6 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
7 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~10%
8 Sepilok 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
9 Namdapha National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
10 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%
11 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
12 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Sunshine Aquarium 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Great Slaty Woodpecker in Khao Yai National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Great Slaty Woodpecker sighting in Khao Yai National Park on a given day, based on 47 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 196th most-seen of the 278 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Great Slaty Woodpecker in Khao Yai National Park?

May

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Great Slaty Woodpecker in Khao Yai National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Great Slaty Woodpecker?

Between 2 and 5 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Slaty Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Which relatives of the Great Slaty Woodpecker live in Khao Yai National Park?

Same family: Picidae

The closest relatives of the Great Slaty Woodpecker that you can see in Khao Yai National Park (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Greater Flameback (about 20%), Laced Woodpecker (about 20%) and Heart-spotted Woodpecker (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Great Slaty Woodpecker sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Great Slaty Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Khao Yai National Park (47 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.

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