Leiopicus mahrattensis
Silhouette: Pepe Reigada · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The yellow-crowned woodpecker (Leiopicus mahrattensis) or Mahratta woodpecker is a species of small pied woodpecker found in the Indian subcontinent. It is the only species placed in the genus Leiopicus. The yellow-crowned woodpecker was originally described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name Picus mahrattensis. It is now the only species placed in the genus Leiopicus that was introduced by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1854. The specific epithet mahrattensis is from Marhatta, a historical region in the modern Indian state of Maharashtra. The genus name Leiopicus combines the Classical Greek leios meaning "smooth" or "beardless" and pikos meaning "woodpecker". The yellow-crowned woodpecker is closely related to the woodpeckers in the genus Dendrocoptes.
A medium-small (17.5 cm, 6.9 inches, 28-46 grams, 1–1.6 ounces), pale-headed, pied woodpecker. Upper-parts black, heavily spotted and barred white. Underparts dark, streaked dingy white with red belly patch. Irregular brown cheek and neck patches. Female has yellowish crown and nape. In male nape scarlet and fore-crown yellow. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 9 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 11 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 13 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 14 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-crowned Woodpecker sighting in Yala National Park on a given day, based on 209 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 88th most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February, April and June
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-crowned Woodpecker in Yala National Park on a given day, against about 10% in August and September, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-crowned Woodpecker sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Yellow-crowned Woodpecker sightings, Yala National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka, about 30%).
Same family: Picidae
The closest relatives of the Yellow-crowned Woodpecker that you can see in Yala National Park (family Picidae, Woodpeckers) are Lesser Sri Lanka Flameback (about 20%) and Brown-capped Woodpecker (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-crowned Woodpecker is recorded against all the birds logged in Yala National Park (209 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.
