En bref

• Scientific Name: Dryobates spodocephalus
• Spanish Name: Carpintero moteado
• Family: Picidae
• Known Nicknames: White-spotted Woodpecker, White-spotted Pied Woodpecker
• Average Length: 18–20 cm / 7.1–7.9 in
• Average Weight: 40–55 g / 1.4–1.9 oz
• Wingspan: 30–35 cm / 11.8–13.8 in
• Key Feature: White spots on black upperparts and white underparts with dark streaking
• Régime alimentaire principal : Principalement insectivore
• Range: South Asia (India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and parts of Southeast Asia)
• Habitat: Subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests, bamboo groves, and plantations
• Social Structure: Semi-Solitary or in Pairs
• Nesting/Breeding: Tree Cavities
• Statut de conservation : Préoccupation mineure (LC)
• Évolution démographique : Stable

The White-spotted Woodpecker (*Dryobates spodocephalus*) is a striking medium-sized woodpecker found across the forests of South and Southeast Asia, distinguished by its unique, smoky-gray head and nape—a feature that sets it apart from most other pied woodpeckers. Its general appearance is a crisp black-and-white pattern: a white-spotted black back, white underparts with dark streaks, and a bold white wing patch visible in flight. Males boast a small red patch on the nape, while females lack this. A special feature is its remarkable adaptability, thriving in both dense tropical forests and urban gardens, where it uses its strong chisel-like bill to excavate insects from dead wood with rapid, rhythmic drumming.

Faits amusants

The White-spotted Woodpecker has a bizarre and highly specialized tongue that wraps around the back of its skull, acting as a built-in shock absorber while it hammers trees. It is also known for a quirky feeding habit called “gaping,” where it uses its beak to pry off loose bark rather than drilling deep holes, often hanging upside-down like a nuthatch to reach hidden insects. Remarkably, it will occasionally drink sap from sapsucker wells and even feeds on small fruits, showing a more varied diet than most woodpeckers. Unlike many of its relatives, this species drums in a distinctively slow, hesitant rhythm, which birders use to identify it by ear alone.

Habitats et répartition

The White-spotted Woodpecker is found across a broad swath of East Asia, with its range extending from northeastern China and the Korean Peninsula south through Taiwan, and westward into parts of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. It primarily inhabits temperate and subtropical forests, including mixed deciduous and coniferous woodlands, as well as evergreen broadleaf forests. This species shows a preference for mature forests with ample dead or decaying trees, which provide essential foraging and nesting sites, and it can also adapt to secondary growth, forest edges, and wooded parks or gardens within its geographic range.

Comportements & Reproduction

The White-spotted Woodpecker is generally solitary or found in pairs, especially during the breeding season, with a social structure centered around a monogamous pair bond that may persist across multiple seasons. Courtship involves mutual tapping, chase flights, and vocal duets, with the male often performing a "drumming" display on resonant wood to attract a female and defend a nesting territory. Both sexes excavate a new nest cavity each year in dead or decaying tree trunks, typically at a height of 2–15 meters. The female lays 3–5 white eggs, and both parents share incubation duties for about 12–14 days. A unique reproductive strategy is their reliance on freshly excavated cavities, which reduces competition with other cavity-nesters and limits parasite buildup; the young are altricial and fledge after approximately 20–24 days, remaining dependent on the parents for several weeks afterward.

Alimentation

The White-spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates spodocephalus) is primarily insectivorous, with a diet heavily dominated by wood-boring beetle larvae, such as those of longhorn beetles and bark beetles, which it extracts by chiseling into dead or decaying wood. It also consumes other arthropods like ants, caterpillars, and spiders, often gleaning them from bark crevices or leaf clusters. Interestingly, this species exhibits a seasonal shift: during autumn and winter, it supplements its diet with fruits, berries, and seeds, particularly from trees like oaks and maples, and it has been observed storing acorns or nuts in bark crevices as a food cache for leaner periods. Additionally, it occasionally drinks sap from sapsucker wells or natural tree wounds, but this behavior is less common than in true sapsuckers.

Couleurs

The White-spotted Woodpecker has a pale gray-brown head and body, with a white-spotted black back and wings forming a striking checkerboard pattern. Males feature a small red patch on the nape, while females lack this. Its white underparts are lightly streaked with gray, and the black tail with white outer feathers provides camouflage against tree bark.

Distribution Map

Places linked to this species. A sighting is never guaranteed.

Détails de l'attraction

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