The Arabian woodpecker or Sarat woodpecker, is a bird species of the family Picidae, native to the Sarawat Mountains of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It is the only woodpecker that breeds on the Arabian Peninsula.
Region
Arabian Peninsula
Typical Environment
Occurs in the Sarawat/Asir highlands of southwestern Saudi Arabia and into the western highlands of Yemen. It inhabits montane juniper and mixed broadleaf woodlands, acacia groves, and traditional terraced farms and orchards. Birds forage on trunks and larger branches in mature trees and along wooded wadis. They are patchily distributed where suitable old-growth trees remain.
Altitude Range
1200–3000 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Arabian woodpecker is the only woodpecker that breeds on the Arabian Peninsula, confined to the Sarawat highlands of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. It relies heavily on mature juniper and mixed highland woodlands for feeding and nesting. Habitat degradation, juniper die-off, and woodcutting are primary threats. Its presence is often detected by rapid drumming and sharp, metallic calls rather than by sight.
Grainy picture of the Arabian woodpecker perched on a tree branch.
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
undulating with short, stiff wingbeats
Social Behavior
Typically found singly or in pairs and maintains year-round territories. Pairs excavate nest cavities in dead or decaying trunks, often juniper, and both sexes share incubation and chick-rearing. Courtship includes drumming displays and chasing. Post-breeding, family groups may remain together briefly before dispersing within territories.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives sharp, metallic kik-kik notes and dry rattling calls. Drumming is a rapid, even roll on resonant trunks, used for territory advertisement and pair communication.
Plumage
Brownish to olive-brown upperparts with pale barring and spotting; underparts buff to whitish with dark streaking. Face pale with contrasting darker moustachial stripe; wings show light spotting and barring. Tail is barred with white on the outer feathers.
Diet
Primarily consumes wood-boring beetle larvae, ants, and other insects taken by probing, pecking, and gleaning from bark and crevices. Will scale bark to reach hidden larvae and occasionally hawks short distances for flying insects. Supplements diet with small fruits or sap when available, especially in orchards and acacia stands.
Preferred Environment
Feeds on mature juniper, acacia, and mixed highland woodland trees, favoring stands with dead limbs and snags. Also utilizes traditional terraced farms, orchards, and wooded wadis where old trees persist.
