10 Amazing Types Of Woodpeckers In The World

American Three-toed Woodpecker
American Three-toed Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are one of the most amazing birds in the world. As of now, 200 species of woodpeckers can be seen in all regions of the world except in Australia, New Zealand and Madagascar. The bird species loves to thrive in forests, backyards and various other types of habitat, especially where trees are available. There are multiple species of woodpeckers that has been extinct because of chemical pollution and usage of aggressive pesticides in the wild. Here is the list of 10 types of woodpeckers in the world,

Types Of Woodpeckers

1.Acorn Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker that cab grows upto 19 to 23 cm long and avarage wieght is around 85 gms. The total wingsspan of the species is 35–43 cm. The bird was first described by the English naturalist William John Swainson in the year 1827 under the binomial name Picus formicivorus from a specimen collected in Mexico. Talking about the appearance, it comes with a brownish-black head, back, wings and tail along with a white forehead, throat, belly and rump. Acorn Woodpecker eyes are white and the unique part is that it has some green feathers on the back. It is mostly seen in the regions of Oregon, California, and the southwestern United States, south through Central America to Colombia. It is also listed as one of the beautiful birds with red on its head.

Acorn Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpecker

2.American Three-toed Woodpecker

American Three-toed Woodpecker is also a medium size woodpecker size that belongs to the family Picidae. The bird species is native to North America.It can grow upto 21 cm in length with a total wingsspan of 38 cm. The avarage wieght of the bird species is 55 gms and the avarage lifespan in the wild is 6 years. American Three-toed Woodpecker is closely related to the black-backed woodpecker which is also a three-toed bird species. The bird breeding region includes western Canada, Alaska and the western United States. American Three-toed Woodpecker populations have declined by more than 25 per cent since 1970.

American Three-toed Woodpecker
American Three-toed Woodpecker

Image Source: Wikimedia

3.Arizona Woodpecker

Arizona Woodpecker is native to the region of southern Arizona and New Mexico and the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico. Talking about the appearance, it looks similar to Strickland’s woodpeckers, however, it can grow upto t 7 to 8 inches in length. The bird’s plumage is uniquely brown and white in colouration. It can be easily identified with white bars on their wings and also two white stripes across their face that will join with another strip on the neck. It prefers to thrive in “Mexican” pine-oak forest and sycamore-walnut woodlands at middle elevations of 4,000–8,000 feet.

Arizona Woodpecker
Arizona Woodpecker

Image Source: Wikimedia

4.Black-backed Woodpecker

Black-backed Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker species that comes with a large head and a powerful bill. It is also known to have broad wings and a medium-length tail. It can grow upto 9.1 in (23 cm) in length with an avarage wieght of 2.1-3.1 oz (61-88 gms). The total wingspan of the bird species is 15.8-16.5 in (40-42 cm). Talking about the appearance, th head is almost all black with a single white malar stripe and a small white mark behind the eye. Male species can be identified with a yellow crown patch which is not present in adult females, however, it will present in juveniles of both sexes. Black-backed Woodpecker loves to thrive in the coniferous forest that includes bark beetle outbreaks and wooded bogs.

Black-backed Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker

Image Source: USFWS Pacific Southwest Region

5.Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker is the smallest species of woodpecker in Ohio state of North America. It is also considered one of the birds of Iowa. The bird species was first described by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands that was published between 1729 and 1732. It has been also discovered nesting inside the walls of buildings and the oldest known Downy Woodpecker identified was a male who is 11 years, 11 months old when it was captured and re-released in 1996 during banding operations in California. The diet includes insects living on or in the stems of weeds.

Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker

6.Gila Woodpecker

Gila Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker species that comes with a long and pointed bill. It can grow upto 8.7-9.4 in (22-24 cm) in length and wieght around 1.8-2.8 oz (51-79 gms). The total wingspan of the species is 15.8-16.5 in (40-42 cm). Talking about the appearance, it is an amazing greyish brown bird that comes with black-and-white barring on the wings. The sane black and white barring can be seen on the back and tail. It prefers to thrive in taller desert vegetation mainly trees and saguaro cactus especially.It is mostly seen in the regions of the southwestern United States and western Mexico.It is also listed as one of the amazing desert birds in the world.

Gila Woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker

7.Gilded Flicker

Gilded Flicker is a large size of woodpecker size species that can grow upto 29 cm (11 inches). It is mostly seen in the regions of the Sonoran, Yuma, and the eastern Colorado Desert regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The bird species build its nests in saguaro cactus, excavating a nest hole nearer to the top than to the ground. The diest includes ants and other insects. It also seems eating beetles, termites, caterpillars, and other insects. Eats many fruits and berries, and eats seeds and nuts at times. The incubation period of the bird species is 11 days and both parents will feed young by regurgitation.

Gilded Flicker
Gilded Flicker

8.Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Golden-fronted Woodpecker is a North American woodpecker that prefers to thrive in mesquite, riparian woodlands, and tropical rainforest. The regions where it is distributed is from Texas and Oklahoma in the United States than to h Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and northern Nicaragua. Talking about the appearance, it has a back barred black-and-white along with an orange-yellow back of the neck and a white rump. It can grow upto 8.7-10.2 in (22-26 cm) in length and wieght approximately 2.6-3.5 oz (73-99 g). The total wingspan of the bird is 16.5-17.3 in (42-44 cm). The avarage lifespan of the bird species is 5.7 years in the wild.

Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Image Source: Wikimedia

9.Hairy Woodpecker

The Hairy Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker species that is seen in a large part of the United States of America. It can grow upto 250 mm (9.8 in) in length with a 380 mm (15 in) wingspan. It prefers to thrive in eastern and western forests. Hairy and Downy woodpeckers occur together throughout most of their ranges. Hairy Woodpecker is scientifically known as Leuconotopicus villosus that belong, to the family, Picidae. The diet includes mostly insects and also seen in feeding on berries, seeds and nuts.

Hairy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker

10.Ivory-billed Woodpecker

One of the types of woodpeckers, Ivory-billed Woodpecker is one of the types of woodpeckers that love to thrive in the bottomland hardwood forests and temperate coniferous forests of the Southern United States and Cuba. It is the largest of the woodpeckers north of Mexico and the third-largest in the world. It is scientifically known as Campephilus principalis and the avarage lifespan of the bird species is 20 to 30 years in the wild. It can grow upto 18 to 20 inches in length with a total wingsspan of 30 to 31 inches. The avarage wieght of the species is 16 to 20 ounces. The diet includes wood-boring larvae burrowed between the bark and sapwood of dead trees. It has been also seen eating fruits, nuts, and seeds were occasionally eaten.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Image Source: Wikimedia

These are the beautiful types of woodpeckers in the world. Kindly share and do post your comments.