Missouri is a state where several bioregions converge. The diversity of its habitats makes it an abode for various types of woodpeckers, seven of which are common. Six of these native woodpeckers are year-round residents, with only one, the yellow-bellied sapsucker, migrating yearly and spending the winter in the state.
Black crown and nape, small white cheek patches, white underparts
Only found in the southern pine forests
Black-backed Woodpecker
Black with white on the face and down the center of the back, yellow cap
Rare, in deep forests in the Ozarks
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Dark green-black with a pink belly and red face
Rare in open woodlands and savannas
Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Large, mostly black with white stripes on the back
Believed to be extinct, extremely rare
The ivory-billed woodpecker historically existed in Missouri but is now considered extinct. Its last sighting was in 2004, despite search parties organizing multiple expeditions to find the bird since then.
The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker is extirpated from the state due to loss of its old longleaf pine habitat. Its numbers declined by 86% from 1966 to 2014.
