Hairy Woodpecker
Hairy WoodpeckerHairy WoodpeckerHairy WoodpeckerHairy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Leuconotopicus villosus

Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Great Smoky Mountains National Park
1,017 Verified sightings at Great Smoky Mountains National Park From 2019 to 2026
18,984 Verified sightings across all 31 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Hairy Woodpecker

The hairy woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) is a medium-sized woodpecker that is found over a large area of North America. It is approximately 250 mm (9.8 in) in length with a 380 mm (15 in) wingspan. With an estimated population in 2020 of almost nine million individuals, the hairy woodpecker is listed by the IUCN as a species of least concern. The species was previously placed in the genus Dryobates.

The hairy woodpecker was described and illustrated with a hand-coloured plate by the English naturalist Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published between 1729 and 1732. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he included the downy woodpecker, coined the binomial name Picus villosus and cited Catesby's book. The specific epithet villosus is the Latin word for "hairy". Linnaeus specified the type locality as America septentrionali (North America), with specific mention of Raccoon, New Jersey. The hairy woodpecker was formerly usually placed in either Dendrocopos or Picoides but a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2015 found that these genera... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Red-bellied Woodpecker
LC

Red-bellied Woodpecker

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Melanerpes carolinus

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely
Downy Woodpecker
LC

Downy Woodpecker

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Dryobates pubescens

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Dryocopus pileatus

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Northern Flicker
LC

Northern Flicker

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Colaptes auratus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
LC

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sphyrapicus varius

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Red-headed Woodpecker
LC

Red-headed Woodpecker

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Melanerpes erythrocephalus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~40%
2 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
3 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
4 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
5 Isle Royale National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
6 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~30%
7 Wood Buffalo National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~30%
8 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
9 Irazú Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
10 Congaree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
11 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
12 Cape Breton Highlands National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
13 El Triunfo 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
14 Gros Morne National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
15 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
16 Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
17 La Tigra National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~10%
18 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
19 Celaque National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
20 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
21 Cusuco National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
22 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
23 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
24 Kenai Fjords National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
25 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
26 Denali National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
27 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
28 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
29 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
30 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
31 Katmai National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Hairy Woodpecker in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hairy Woodpecker sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, based on 1,017 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Hairy Woodpecker in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

September has the highest sighting rate for Hairy Woodpecker in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in our monthly data.

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