The Okinawa Woodpecker (Sapheopipo noguchii), (?????/????? ,Noguchigera?) is a woodpecker endemic to the island of Okinawa in Japan. It is the only member of the genus Sapheopipo.

This is a medium-sized (31cm), dark woodpecker. It is dark brown in color with red-tipped feathers. It has white spots on the primaries. The head is a paler brown, with a dark red crown on the male and a blackish-brown one on the female.

Their breeding habitat is subtropical, evergreen broad-leaved forest that is at least 30 years old, with tall trees of more than 20 cm in diameter. Nesting is between late February and May.

This woodpecker is critically endangered. It has a single tiny, declining population which is threatened by habitat loss of mature forest due to logging, dam construction, agriculture and golf course developments. The current population is estimated at less than 600.

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet.

 This Piciformes-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.