Description ²

White-backed woodpeckers are the largest of the spotted, black-and-white woodpeckers and have an obviously larger head and beak than similar species. An adult male has a bright red region on the top of the head extending from the eyes back to the middle of the back of the head. Their iris is colored red-brown or red. Extending down the side of the face and back of the neck is white. A large black area lies in the middle of the white neck region and extends to the bill and behind the eyes up to the red portion of the crown. They have a white belly that is streaked with broad, black bars. A white-and-black striped pattern covers its back and wings. Females are slightly smaller than males and the entire top of their heads are black, not red. Males also have larger beaks than females, but this characteristic is hard to see without comparing a male and female side-by-side. Bare spots on the body, such as the beak and feet are greyish. Young white-backed woodpeckers are a dull shade of brown and appear much dirtier than adults. Both male and female young have red on their crowns, but are much lighter than adult males. Dendrocopos leucotos is set apart from a similar species, lesser spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos minor), by its large size and strongly streaked underbody and is most likely mistaken with middle spotted woodpeckers (Dendrocopos medius).

Range mass: 105 to 112 g.

Range length: 83 to 91 mm.

Range wingspan: 144 to 152 mm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; sexes colored or patterned differently; male more colorful

Subspecies ³

1. Dendrocopos leucotos lilfordi -> found in the Balkans and Turkey
2. Dendrocopos leucotos leucotos
3. Dendrocopos leucotos tangi
4. Dendrocopos leucotos subcirris
5. Dendrocopos leucotos stejnegeri
6. Dendrocopos leucotos namiyei
7. Dendrocopos leucotos takahashii
8. Dendrocopos leucotos owstoni
9. Dendrocopos leucotos fohkiensis
10. Dendrocopos leucotos insularis
11. Dendrocopos leucotos quelpartensis
12. Dendrocopos leucotos uralensis

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Aleksandar, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Aleksandar
2. Adapted by Aleksandar from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31390247
3. (c) Aleksandar, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• VertNet
• Xeno-canto
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム

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