Every Woodpecker You Can See in North America

Woodpeckers are one family of birds that need no introduction—their name says it all. From the dainty Downy to the imposing Pileated, 22 species of woodpeckers can be found carving out homes in trees—and cacti—across North America. While most woodpeckers sport some combination of red, white, and black, not all do, and the birds listed here can vary widely in their appearance, behaviors, and habitats. See if you recognize any of these characters, and to learn more about each species, visit its bird guide page.   

1.) Downy Woodpecker 

The smallest woodpecker in North America, this common bird can be seen across the country and throughout a wide range of habitats year-round. Downy woodpeckers are also frequent backyard visitors and happy to eat as much suet as you'll provide. 

2.) Hairy Woodpecker

Looking nearly identical to the Downy (here's how to tell them apart), this medium-size woodpecker can also be found in much of the same territory, causing plenty of ID confusion. In both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, females lack the male's bright red patch on the top of its head. 

3.) Red-bellied Woodpecker

Often mistaken for the Red-headed Woodpecker (very different; see #14), the Red-bellied is another medium-size woodpecker found in woodlands, parks, and suburbans spaces across much of the eastern United States. Their loud, trilling querr call often gives away their presence.  

4.) Northern Flicker

A large woodpecker with striking facial markings and speckled plumage, Northern Flickers are as likely to be seen lapping ants up off the ground as they are chipping away at a tree trunk for beetles, termites, and other insects. Found year-round across the country, eastern, or "yellow-shafted," birds flash gold in flight, while western, or  "red-shafted," birds show off a rosier hue. 

5.) Gilded Flicker 

A denizen of the Sonoran Desert, this woodpecker looks similar to the Northern Flicker but is slightly smaller and lacks a red patch on the back of its head. The bird's golden underwings almost gleam in flight, inspiring its name. The Gilded Flicker is one of a handful North American woodpeckers that carve out holes and nest in saguaro cacti. 

6.) Gila Woodpecker 

Similar to the Gilded, this medium-size, bar-backed woodpecker can be found in the deserts of Arizona, Southern California, Mexico, and New Mexico, where it makes its home in either trees or saguaros. Once abandoned, the holes in the cacti created by Gila and Gilded Woodpeckers are used as nesting sites by many other bird species and animals. 

7.) Golden-fronted Woodpecker 

The Golden-fronted Woodpecker's core range is eastern Mexico and Central America, but in the United States , it is a permanent resident of central Texas and southwestern Oklahoma. The bird looks similar to the Red-bellied save for the male's orange-yellow nape, or neck, and splash of yellow above the bill. 

8.) Pileated Woodpecker

It's hard to mistake a Pileated Woodpecker: The largest remaining woodpecker in the Western Hemisphere, the bird cuts a distinct, crested profile as it glides from tree to tree in eastern woodlands, much of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Northwest. Its call—a loud, percussive series of cuk-cuk-cuks—can be heard at great distances.  

9.) Lewis's Woodpecker 

By far our most unusual North American woodpecker, the Lewis's Woodpecker sports green, silver, pink, and red feathers. Found across western states, the bird further differs from other woodpecker by feeding largely by flycatching, sallying out from limbs and other perches. In flight, the medium-size bird is often compared to a crow thanks to its wide, rounded wings. 

10.) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 

This medium-size woodpecker can be seen throughout much of the midwest and east during winter months. While the name might seem like an insult, it's highly accurate: One vital food source for these birds is the energy-rich sap of trees, which they access by creating little holes, or wells, that they can revisit when it's time to refuel.

11.) Red-naped Sapsucker 

Found throughout the Intermountain West during summer months and in southern western states down into Mexico during the winter, this sapsucker's patch of red on its neck is the key difference between it and its Yellow-bellied cousin to the east. This bird also creates small holes to lap up sap—much to the delight of hummingbirds, who happily take advantage of the free food. 

12.) Red-breasted Sapsucker 

The Red-breasted Sapsucker sticks to a tight range along the Pacific Coast, and while it prefers coniferous forests, it can still be found making grids of sap wells in mixed woods with deciduous trees. Their bright red breast and head, as well as their darker plumage, set these birds apart from the other two sapsucker species; atypically, males and females look alike. 

13.) Williamson's Sapsucker 

Another bird of the Intermountain West during summer months and a permanent resident in California's mountain ranges, males of this species are distinct, featuring jet-black plumage with two bold white lines on their face, a red patch on their chin, and yellow bellies. Females look completely different, with an overall brown or gray appearance and barring on their backs. 

14.) Red-headed Woodpecker 

This dapper bird was once one of our most common woodpeckers—but not anymore. While they are conspicuos with their crimson  heads, crisp white belly, and black-and-white wings, these birds are now elusive, most often found in open woodlands and agricultural fields. The birds live in small colonies and love acorns and beech nuts, which they'll cache for later. 

15.) Nuttall's Woodpecker 

This small woodpecker is an exclusive resident of California's oak woodlands, where its horizontal back stripes differentiate it from the similar-looking Downy and Hairy Woodpecker.  This barring makes the Nuttall's and Ladder-backed Woodpecker easy to confuse, but the Nuttall's is overall darker in appearance, with a wide patch of black on their upper back.

16.) Ladder-backed Woodpecker 

A permanent resident of the Southwest, the Ladder-backed looks a lot like a Nuttall's but with more white on its face and back.  The territories for both only overlap in the California foothills, though, so identification can usually be made by range alone. 

17.) White-headed Woodpecker 

White-headed Woodpeckers are one of our most range-limited  North American woodpecker species. They are only found in high-altitude pine forests of western states and up into British Columbia. This bird is also the only woodpecker on this list with a white faces and completely black body; females lack the male's patch of red on the top of its head. 

18.) Red-cockaded Woodpecker 

The only woodpecker on this list that is consider threatened. Once relatively common across the southeastern United States, this species is now rare due to loss of habitat primarily from logging. Named for a tiny patch of red feathers—the "cockade"—behind the eye of the male, these largely black and white birds are highly dependent on longleaf pine forests to survive.  

19.) Acorn Woodpecker

 This bird earns its name: In the fall, it obsessively collects acorns, caching them in a dead snag loaded with pre-drilled holes until they are needed during tough winter months. Acorn Woodpeckers are communal birds with odd family dynamics, and these "granaries" can be used by generations of woodpeckers. 

20.) American Three-toed Woodpecker

A permanent resident of western mountains and northern North America, this smaller woodpecker is low key and easy to miss as it rests against the trunks of trees. Three-toed Woodpeckers—which do indeed have three toes—forage for insects by chipping away at the bark of dead trees, so they gravitate toward forests disturbed by fires or bark beetle outbreaks.  

21.) Black-backed Woodpecker

With a similar but not as southern-reaching range as the Three-toed, the Black-backed looks markedly similar, with males also sporting a yellow patch of feathers on the forehead. Also like the Three-toed, Black-backed Woodpeckers have three toes and are highly dependent on recently burned forests for habitat. Where the two overlap, the Black-backed tends to rule. 

22.) Arizona Woodpecker

As the name suggests, this species is almost exclusively found in southeastern Arizona in the United States, with its range extending down into Mexico. The medium-size woodpecker has a brown back, white cheek patch, and heavily spotted underside, giving it an appearance unlike any other woodpecker on this list. Find them in mountainous pin-oak forests.