CreatureData

Zebra woodpecker

Meiglyptes tristis (Horsfield, 1821)

ENEndangeredbirds

The zebra woodpecker (Meiglyptes tristis) is a species in the family Picidae, order Piciformes. Recorded adults weigh 31.7 g to 46.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

Zebra woodpecker (Meiglyptes tristis)
Photo: Jason Thompson · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the zebra woodpecker

Weight
31.7 g – 46.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the zebra woodpecker live?

Not recorded

What is the zebra woodpecker?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The zebra woodpecker (Meiglyptes tristis) is a species of bird in the family Picidae.

It is found in Java. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is considered endangered.

The zebra woodpecker was described by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield in 1821 under the binomial name Picus tristis from a specimen collected in Java. The specific epithet tristis is Latin for "sad" or "gloomy". The species is now placed in the genus Meiglyptes that was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1837.

The zebra woodpecker is a monotypic species, but it was previously considered conspecific with the buff-rumped woodpecker as two subspecies.

From the Wikipedia article “Zebra woodpecker” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zebra_woodpecker&oldid=1379852514), 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 zebra woodpecker endangered?

The zebra woodpecker is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

  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 Endangered species. What the categories mean.

How is the zebra woodpecker classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPiciformes
  5. familyPicidae
  6. genusMeiglyptes
  7. SpeciesMeiglyptes tristis (Horsfield, 1821)

Synonyms Picus poicilophos, Picus tristis

Other names and names in other languages (49)
  • Buff-rumped woodpeckerEnglish
  • Buff-rumped woodpeckerEnglish
  • Buff-rumped woodpeckerEnglish
  • White-rumped woodpeckerEnglish
  • White-rumped woodpeckerEnglish
  • نقار الخشب برتقالي الردفArabic
  • نقار خشب برتقالي الأردافArabic
  • picot tristCatalan
  • Meiglyptes tristisCebuano
  • datel červenovousýCzech
  • cnocell dinfelenWelsh
  • Cnocell dinfelen AsiaWelsh
  • TigerspætteDanish
  • WellenspechtGerman
  • BraunbürzelspechtGerman
  • JavawellenspechtGerman
  • zebrostria pegoEsperanto
  • Pito tristeSpanish
  • Pito Barrado de la Isla de Java OccidentalSpanish
  • kirju-võrarähnEstonian
  • raitapoimijaFinnish
  • Pic strihupFrench
  • tamnoprsa žunaCroatian
  • Caladi batuIndonesian
  • Picchio groppacamoscioItalian
  • ヒメカレハゲラJapanese
  • gelsvasis dryžasis genysLithuanian
  • Burung Belatuk AwanMalay
  • nettingspettNorwegian Bokmål
  • ZebraspechtDutch
  • BruinstuitspechtDutch
  • sebraspettNorwegian
  • łuskodrwal małyPolish
  • کالا تے ہلدی چڑی ترکھانWestern Panjabi
  • pica-pau-tristePortuguese
  • pica-pau-de-rabadilha-begePortuguese
  • Рябой дятелRussian
  • Желтопоясничный волнистый дятелRussian
  • rúbač jarabýSlovak
  • mravcožlna jarabáSlovak
  • Žutoleđa žunicaSerbian
  • tigerspettSwedish
  • zebraspettSwedish
  • นกหัวขวานลายตะโพกเหลืองThai
  • Yazılı AğaçkakanTurkish
  • дятел-коротун смугастокрилийUkrainian
  • 黃腰斑啄木鳥Chinese
  • 黃腰橫斑啄木Chinese
  • 黄腰斑啄木鸟Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the zebra woodpecker

Other species in the same genus Meiglyptes.

CompareZebra woodpecker vs Black-and-buff woodpeckerZebra woodpecker vs Buff-necked woodpecker

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the zebra woodpecker?

An adult zebra woodpecker weighs 31.7 g – 46.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the zebra woodpecker endangered?

The zebra woodpecker is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the zebra woodpecker?

The zebra woodpecker (Meiglyptes tristis) 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). Zebra woodpecker (Meiglyptes tristis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/zebra-woodpecker

MLA

“Zebra woodpecker (Meiglyptes tristis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/zebra-woodpecker.

BibTeX
@misc{zebra_woodpecker_2026,
  title = {Zebra woodpecker (Meiglyptes tristis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/zebra-woodpecker},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}