NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Grey-headed Woodpecker
Picus canus J. F. Gmelin, 1788
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The grey-headed woodpecker (Picus canus), also known as the grey-faced woodpecker, is a Eurasian member of the woodpecker family, Picidae. Along with the more commonly found European green woodpecker and the Iberian green woodpecker, it is one of three closely related species found in Europe. Its distribution also stretches across large parts of the central and Eastern Palaearctic, all the way to the Pacific Ocean and south to the Himalaya and the Malay Peninsula.
The grey-headed woodpecker is more demanding than the European green woodpecker in terms of its habitat. It prefers deciduous forest with a high proportion of dead trees, feeding primarily on ants, although not being as exclusively dependent on this group as the green woodpecker. The grey-headed woodpecker's nest is typically excavated into dead or severely damaged trees.
In the majority of areas for which population numbers are available, the grey-headed woodpecker is in decline. IUCN's Least Concern rating is primarily based on the large distribution of the species.
Wikipedia contributors, Grey-headed woodpecker; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:54:05.006611+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Picus canus J. F. Gmelin, 1788
- Name authority
- J. F. Gmelin, 1788
- Common name
- Grey-headed Woodpecker
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Picus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPiciformes
- familyPicidae
- subfamilyPicinae
- genusPicus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesPicus canus J. F. Gmelin, 1788
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Picus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-headed WoodpeckerPicus erythropygius (D. G. Elliot, 1865) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-collared WoodpeckerPicus rabieri (Oustalet, 1898) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| European Green WoodpeckerPicus viridis Linnaeus, 1758 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Laced WoodpeckerPicus vittatus Vieillot, 1818 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Streak-breasted WoodpeckerPicus viridanus Blyth, 1843 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Japanese Green WoodpeckerPicus awokera Temminck, 1836 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser YellownapePicus chlorolophus Vieillot, 1818 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Scaly-bellied WoodpeckerPicus squamatus Vigors, 1831 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Levaillant's WoodpeckerPicus vaillantii (Malherbe, 1847) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Streak-throated WoodpeckerPicus xanthopygaeus (J. E. Gray & G. R. Gray, 1847) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554125 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4HR33. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.