The White-bellied Woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis), or great black woodpecker, is found in evergreen forests of tropical Asia, including the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has 14 subspecies, part of a complex including the Andaman woodpecker (Dryocopus hodgei) (earlier treated as a subspecies). Many island forms are endangered, some are extinct. Populations differ in the distribution and extent of white. They are among the largest of the Asiatic woodpeckers and nest in large dead trees, often beside rivers. Their drums and calls are louder than those of the smaller woodpeckers.
