BirdBrain Academy

Woodpeckers · Picidae

Hairy Woodpecker sounds

Dryobates villosus

The Hairy Woodpecker is a medium-sized North American woodpecker, widespread and listed as a species of least concern.

Learn bird sounds freeMore Hairy Woodpecker recordings
Hairy Woodpecker
Photo: JerryFriedman, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Listen to the Hairy Woodpecker

Each recording below is a short excerpt with its spectrogram, a picture of the sound. Time runs left to right and higher pitches sit higher up. Play each one, then look for the same shape in the next. Different recordings of the same bird help you learn the bird, not one clip.

Call · recording 1 Spectrogram of a Hairy Woodpecker call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Doug Hynes, Terra Nova National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2010-07-16. XC934304 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 4.0. Five-second excerpt.

Call · recording 2 Spectrogram of a Hairy Woodpecker call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Miesville Ravine Park Reserve, Goodhue County, Minnesota, 2014-04-18. XC175245 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 4.0. Five-second excerpt.

Call · recording 3 Spectrogram of a Hairy Woodpecker call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Miesville Ravine Park Reserve, Goodhue County, Minnesota, 2014-04-18. XC175244 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 4.0. Five-second excerpt.

What to listen for

What it looks like

Adults are mainly black above, with a white or pale back, white wing spotting, white bars above and below the eye, and a black tail with white outer feathers. Males bear red on the back of the head, while juvenile males may show red or orange-red on the crown.

Where to find it

The Hairy Woodpecker inhabits mature deciduous forests across much of North and Central America and the Bahamas, with northern and mountain birds sometimes moving seasonally. It forages on trees, turning bark or excavating wood to uncover insects, while also taking fruits, berries, nuts, and tree sap.

BirdBrain regions that include this bird

  • Alaska
  • California
  • Caribbean
  • Central America
  • Eastern Canada
  • Florida
  • Great Lakes
  • Mexico
  • Mid-Atlantic
  • New England
  • Northwest
  • Plains
  • Polynesia
  • Rocky Mountains
  • Southeast
  • Southwest
  • Texas
  • Western Canada

Did you know?

  • Mating pairs excavate a hole in a tree and lay, on average, four white eggs.
  • It preys on the European corn borer, a moth costly to United States agriculture.
  • Its resemblance to the downy woodpecker is described as convergent evolution.

Learn the Hairy Woodpecker by ear

BirdBrain Academy teaches bird sounds with side-by-side listening and quizzes that use different recordings, so you learn the bird rather than one clip. Start with six free lessons, no signup needed. On your phone, Sound ID can name the birds singing around you.

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Related birds

Species notes are adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and checked for BirdBrain. Recordings come from xeno-canto under the licenses shown with each one. Photo: JerryFriedman, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Identification guidance is educational; birds vary, so confirm unusual sightings with local experts or eBird.