Woodpeckers in Montana
Our list for Montana has 11 woodpeckers recorded regularly there: 7 residents, 3 summer visitors and 1 winter visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Montana in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 11, most common first
Northern FlickerColaptes auratusResidentCommon28–31 cmRecorded all year
Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescensWinter visitorCommon14–18 cmRecorded all year
Hairy WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus villosusResidentCommon18–26 cmRecorded all year
Red-naped SapsuckerSphyrapicus nuchalisSummer visitorCommon19–21 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatusResidentCommon40–49 cmRecorded all year
Lewis's WoodpeckerMelanerpes lewisResidentUncommon26–28 cmRecorded all year
American Three-toed WoodpeckerPicoides dorsalisResidentUncommon21–24 cmRecorded all year
Williamson's SapsuckerSphyrapicus thyroideusSummer visitorUncommon21–25 cmRegularly Mar–Sep
Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalusSummer visitorRare19–23 cmRegularly May–Sep
Black-backed WoodpeckerPicoides arcticusResidentRare21–24 cmRecorded all year
Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus variusResidentRare19–22 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Downy Woodpecker 14–18 cm
- Red-naped Sapsucker 19–21 cm
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 19–22 cm
- Red-headed Woodpecker 19–23 cm
- Hairy Woodpecker 18–26 cm
- American Three-toed Woodpecker 21–24 cm
- Black-backed Woodpecker 21–24 cm
- Williamson's Sapsucker 21–25 cm
- Lewis's Woodpecker 26–28 cm
- Northern Flicker 28–31 cm
- Pileated Woodpecker 40–49 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