Woodpeckers in United States
Our list for United States has 22 woodpeckers recorded regularly there: 18 residents, 3 summer visitors and 1 winter visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in United States in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 22, most common first
Downy WoodpeckerDryobates pubescensResidentCommon14–18 cmRecorded all year
Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinusResidentCommon23–26 cmRecorded all year
Northern FlickerColaptes auratusResidentCommon28–31 cmRecorded all year
Hairy WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus villosusResidentCommon18–26 cmRecorded all year
Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatusResidentCommon40–49 cmRecorded all year
Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus variusResidentUncommon19–22 cmRecorded all year
Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalusResidentUncommon19–23 cmRecorded all year
Acorn WoodpeckerMelanerpes formicivorusResidentUncommon20–24 cmRecorded all year
Nuttall's WoodpeckerDryobates nuttalliiResidentUncommon17–18 cmRecorded all year
Ladder-backed WoodpeckerDryobates scalarisResidentUncommon16–19 cmRecorded all year
Gila WoodpeckerMelanerpes uropygialisResidentUncommon20–25 cmRecorded all year
Golden-fronted WoodpeckerMelanerpes aurifronsWinter visitorUncommon21–26 cmRecorded all year
Red-breasted SapsuckerSphyrapicus ruberResidentUncommon19–22 cmRecorded all year
Red-naped SapsuckerSphyrapicus nuchalisResidentRare19–21 cmRecorded all year
White-headed WoodpeckerPicoides albolarvatusSummer visitorRare20–23 cmRecorded all year
Lewis's WoodpeckerMelanerpes lewisResidentRare26–28 cmRecorded all year
Williamson's SapsuckerSphyrapicus thyroideusSummer visitorRare21–25 cmRecorded all year
Arizona WoodpeckerPicoides arizonaeResidentRare19–21 cmRecorded all year
Gilded FlickerColaptes chrysoidesResidentRare28–31 cmRecorded all year
American Three-toed WoodpeckerPicoides dorsalisSummer visitorRare21–24 cmRecorded all year
Black-backed WoodpeckerPicoides arcticusResidentRare21–24 cmRecorded all year
Red-cockaded WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus borealisResidentRare20–23 cmRecorded all year
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Downy Woodpecker 14–18 cm
- Nuttall's Woodpecker 17–18 cm
- Ladder-backed Woodpecker 16–19 cm
- Red-naped Sapsucker 19–21 cm
- Arizona Woodpecker 19–21 cm
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 19–22 cm
- Red-breasted Sapsucker 19–22 cm
- Red-headed Woodpecker 19–23 cm
- White-headed Woodpecker 20–23 cm
- Red-cockaded Woodpecker 20–23 cm
- Hairy Woodpecker 18–26 cm
- Acorn Woodpecker 20–24 cm
- Gila Woodpecker 20–25 cm
- American Three-toed Woodpecker 21–24 cm
- Black-backed Woodpecker 21–24 cm
- Williamson's Sapsucker 21–25 cm
- Golden-fronted Woodpecker 21–26 cm
- Red-bellied Woodpecker 23–26 cm
- Lewis's Woodpecker 26–28 cm
- Northern Flicker 28–31 cm
- Gilded 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