Birds
Arabian Woodpecker
Dendrocopos dorae · also called Arabian woodpeckers
Surviving in scattered pockets of mountain woodland across an otherwise arid landscape, an Arabian woodpecker occupies one of the most isolated and unusual habitats found anywhere in the entire woodpecker family, restricted to a handful of highland forests in southwestern Arabia.
Overview
The Arabian woodpecker, Dendrocopos dorae, is a small, plain-plumaged woodpecker native to forest and desert-fringe habitat across a small number of mountain regions in southwestern Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Its extreme geographic restriction, adaptation to arid mountain woodland unlike almost any other woodpecker, and status as one of the more poorly studied members of the entire family make it one of the most distinctive and least understood woodpeckers in the world.
A woodpecker for the desert’s edge
Surrounded by arid terrain that supports few trees at all, the Arabian woodpecker has carved out a life within the scattered mountain woodlands of southwestern Arabia, a habitat unlike that of almost any other woodpecker on Earth.
Status
Least Concern, remaining present across a small number of isolated mountain woodland areas in southwestern Arabia despite its naturally restricted range.
Arabian Woodpecker: common questions
Where is the Arabian woodpecker found?
This species is restricted to a small number of mountain woodland areas across southwestern Saudi Arabia and Yemen, found nowhere else on Earth.
Why is the Arabian woodpecker considered unusual among woodpeckers?
This species is one of the few woodpeckers anywhere adapted to such an arid, isolated mountain environment, relying on scattered pockets of woodland within an otherwise dry Arabian landscape.
How much is known about the Arabian woodpecker's biology?
Relatively little, since this species remains poorly studied compared to most other woodpeckers, with limited published research on its detailed behaviour and population trends.
What threatens the Arabian woodpecker?
This species is vulnerable to the loss of the small, isolated patches of woodland it depends on, since suitable habitat is already naturally limited across its restricted arid range.