Woodpeckers in North Carolina

A total of eleven types of woodpeckers call North Carolina home. The hairy and downy are small black-and-white woodpeckers living in the state. In fact, the downy is the smallest at 6.1 inches. Both birds are very common in the state, mostly in the western part. Contrasting them in size, the pileated woodpecker is the biggest at 17.5 inches.

Different Types of Woodpeckers Found in North Carolina

The American three-toed, ladder-backed, and red-cockaded woodpeckers are accidental species living in the state. The red-cockaded woodpecker is an endangered bird since it is uniquely adapted to NC’s longleaf pine ecosystem, which has significantly declined in the last 200 years. The ivory-billed woodpecker was once an inhabitant of the old-growth forests of North Carolina but is now considered extinct. Its last confirmed sighting was in 1944 in Louisiana.