Hairy Woodpecker - Species Profile
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List
LC - Least Concern
NatureServe
N5 - Secure
SNR - Unranked
Minnesota
not listed
Description
Size
Total length: 8″ to 9½″
Wingspan: 15″
Voice
Similar Species
Habitat
Deciduous and mixed forests, usually in dense, mature stands with conifers
Ecology
Migration
Nesting
Diet
Distribution
Occurrence
Common year-round resident
Maps
The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map
Taxonomy
Class
Aves (Birds)
Order
Piciformes (Woodpeckers and Allies)
Family
Picidae (Woodpeckers)
Subfamily
Picinae (Typical Woodpeckers)
Tribe
Melanerpini (Pied Woodpeckers and Allies)
Genus
Leuconotopicus
Genus
Hairy Woodpecker was formerly classified as Picoides villosus. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2015 showed that the genus Picoides was not properly restricted (not monophyletic). Hairy Woodpecker and five other species were moved to the genus Leuconotopicus.
Some taxonomic authorities place the hairy woodpecker in an expanded Dryobates that includes all the species in the genera Leuconotopicus and Veniliornis.
Subordinate Taxa
American Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus septentrionalis)
Cabanis’s Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus hyloscopus)
Chihuahua Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus icastus)
Eastern Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus villosus) 
Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus jardinii)
Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus maynardi)
Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus piger)
Harris’s Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus harrisi)
Mexican Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus sanctorum)
Newfoundland Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus terraenovae)
Queen Charlotte Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus picoideus)
Sierra Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus orius)
Sitka Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus sitkensis)
Southern Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus auduboni)
Synonyms
Dendrocopos villosus
Dryobates villosus
Picoides villosus
Picus villosus
