Woodpeckers in South Dakota
Our list for South Dakota has 11 woodpeckers recorded regularly there: 1 resident, 6 summer visitors and 4 winter visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in South Dakota in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 11, most common first
Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescensWinter visitorCommon14–18 cmRecorded all year
Northern FlickerColaptes auratusResidentCommon28–31 cmRecorded all year
Hairy WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus villosusWinter visitorCommon18–26 cmRecorded all year
Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinusWinter visitorCommon23–26 cmRecorded all year
Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalusSummer visitorCommon19–23 cmRegularly May–Sep
Red-naped SapsuckerSphyrapicus nuchalisSummer visitorUncommon19–21 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatusWinter visitorUncommon40–49 cmRegularly Oct–Aug
Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus variusSummer visitorUncommon19–22 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Lewis's WoodpeckerMelanerpes lewisSummer visitorUncommon26–28 cmRegularly Jan–Sep
Black-backed WoodpeckerPicoides arcticusSummer visitorRare21–24 cmRegularly Apr–Nov
American Three-toed WoodpeckerPicoides dorsalisSummer visitorRare21–24 cmRegularly Jan–Oct
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
- Black-backed Woodpecker 21–24 cm
- American Three-toed Woodpecker 21–24 cm
- Red-bellied Woodpecker 23–26 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