Leuconotopicus albolarvatus
Silhouette: Richard Rich · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The white-headed woodpecker (Leuconotopicus albolarvatus) is a non-migratory woodpecker that resides in pine forests of the mountains of western North America. It has a black body (approximately 20 cm (7.9 in) long) and white head. It has white primary feathers that form a crescent in flight. Males have a red spot at the back of the head.
The range of the white-headed woodpecker stretches in the mountains from British Columbia through southern California. They form nests in dead trees or snags and reproduce once per year. Most of the range is occupied by the nominate subspecies. In the southern part of the range, L. a. gravirostris, which has a longer bill - especially in males - and tail, is only found on mountaintops of the San Gabriel Mountains to San Diego County. Apparently, the larger bill of the southern subspecies is an adaptation for being better able to feed on the large, spiny... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Woodpecker sighting in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks on a given day, based on 934 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 20th most-seen of the 152 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Woodpecker in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks on a given day, against about 10% in December to April, the lowest months. That is one of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 190 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-headed Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate White-headed Woodpecker sightings, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Yosemite National Park (United States, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-headed Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (934 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.
