White-bellied Woodpecker

How to identify

Field marks

1. Very large, with a body length of 40–48 cm
2. Blackish overall, with the amount of white varying by region
3. Subspecies hodgsonii has a white rump

Male, female and young

Juveniles of the nominate subspecies may have fine white stripes on the throat.

Voice

Ranges from a short, sharp “kuk” to drawn-out “kyuk”, “kew” and “kee-yow”.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: February–March · Most records: Malaysia, Philippines, India

White-bellied Woodpecker has been recorded at 164 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 11 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Sepilok – Rainforest Discovery CenterMalaysia993 records
2. Subic Bay – Nabasan TrailPhilippines534 records
3. Gunung Panti Recreational Forest – Panti Bird Sanctuary and North AreaMalaysia522 records

Countries and regions with the most records

MalaysiaPhilippinesIndiaCambodiaThailandVietnamIndonesiaChina

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The white-bellied woodpecker or great black woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis) is a woodpecker species inhabiting evergreen forests in tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is among the largest of the Asiatic woodpeckers and nests in large dead trees, often beside rivers. It has 14 subspecies, and many of its island forms are endangered, some are extinct.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions