CreatureData

White woodpecker

Melanerpes candidus (Otto, 1796)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The white woodpecker (Melanerpes candidus) is a species in the family Picidae, order Piciformes. Recorded adults weigh 108 g to 120 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the white woodpecker

Weight
108 g – 120 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Frugivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the white woodpecker

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

1 more photo exists under a licence we cannot display: view at source.

Where does the white woodpecker live?

Not recorded

What is the white woodpecker?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The white woodpecker (Melanerpes candidus) is a South American species of woodpecker (family Picidae) native to the wooded grasslands of Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. It is a bright white bird with black wings and a distinctive small bright yellow eye patch. The IUCN has rated it as a "least-concern species".

From the Wikipedia article “White woodpecker” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_woodpecker&oldid=1380612437), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the white woodpecker endangered?

The white woodpecker is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the white woodpecker classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPiciformes
  5. familyPicidae
  6. genusMelanerpes
  7. SpeciesMelanerpes candidus (Otto, 1796)

Synonyms Leuconerpes candidus, Picus bicolor, Picus candidus, Picus melanopterus

Other names and names in other languages (28)
  • picot blancCatalan
  • datel běloprsýCzech
  • cnocell wenWelsh
  • Hvid SpætteDanish
  • WeißspechtGerman
  • blanka pegoEsperanto
  • Carpintero blancoSpanish
  • valgerähnEstonian
  • valkotikkaFinnish
  • Pic dominicainFrench
  • bijeli djetlićCroatian
  • fehér küllőHungarian
  • Picchio biancoItalian
  • シロキツツキJapanese
  • baltasis tamsianugaris genysLithuanian
  • Witte SpechtDutch
  • hvitspettNorwegian
  • dzięciur białyPolish
  • Pica-pau brancoPortuguese
  • pica-pau-brancoPortuguese
  • Белый дятелRussian
  • tesárik bielySlovak
  • Beli detlićSerbian
  • vitspettSwedish
  • Ak AğaçkakanTurkish
  • гіла білаUkrainian
  • 白啄木Chinese
  • 白啄木鸟Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the white woodpecker

Other species in the same genus Melanerpes.

CompareWhite woodpecker vs Red-headed woodpeckerWhite woodpecker vs Acorn woodpeckerWhite woodpecker vs Red-bellied woodpeckerWhite woodpecker vs Lewis's woodpecker

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the white woodpecker?

An adult white woodpecker weighs 108 g – 120 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the white woodpecker endangered?

The white woodpecker is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the white woodpecker?

The white woodpecker (Melanerpes candidus) belongs to the family Picidae in the order Piciformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). White woodpecker (Melanerpes candidus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-woodpecker

MLA

“White woodpecker (Melanerpes candidus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-woodpecker.

BibTeX
@misc{white_woodpecker_2026,
  title = {White woodpecker (Melanerpes candidus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-woodpecker},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}