Woodpeckers in Colorado
Our list for Colorado has 12 woodpeckers recorded regularly there: 5 residents, 6 summer visitors and 1 winter visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Colorado in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 12, most common first
Northern FlickerColaptes auratusResidentCommon28–31 cmRecorded all year
Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescensResidentCommon14–18 cmRecorded all year
Hairy WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus villosusResidentCommon18–26 cmRecorded all year
Red-naped SapsuckerSphyrapicus nuchalisSummer visitorUncommon19–21 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Williamson's SapsuckerSphyrapicus thyroideusSummer visitorUncommon21–25 cmRegularly Apr–Jan
Lewis's WoodpeckerMelanerpes lewisResidentUncommon26–28 cmRecorded all year
American Three-toed WoodpeckerPicoides dorsalisSummer visitorUncommon21–24 cmRecorded all year
Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalusSummer visitorUncommon19–23 cmRegularly May–Oct
Ladder-backed WoodpeckerDryobates scalarisSummer visitorUncommon16–19 cmRecorded all year
Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus variusWinter visitorRare19–22 cmRegularly Sep–Mar
Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinusResidentRare23–26 cmRecorded all year
Acorn WoodpeckerMelanerpes formicivorusSummer visitorRare20–24 cmRegularly May–Feb
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Downy Woodpecker 14–18 cm
- Ladder-backed Woodpecker 16–19 cm
- Red-naped Sapsucker 19–21 cm
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 19–22 cm
- Red-headed Woodpecker 19–23 cm
- Hairy Woodpecker 18–26 cm
- Acorn Woodpecker 20–24 cm
- American Three-toed Woodpecker 21–24 cm
- Williamson's Sapsucker 21–25 cm
- Red-bellied Woodpecker 23–26 cm
- Lewis's Woodpecker 26–28 cm
- Northern Flicker 28–31 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made