Eurasian Green Woodpecker
Picus viridis
Fairly large, mostly green woodpecker, unmistakable throughout much of range. Note red crown, pale eyes, and black face (male has red whisker mark). Yellowish rump shows mainly in slightly undulating flight. Juvenile is extensively barred and spotted all over, and lacks the contrasting face pattern. Inhabits open woodland, heathland, gardens, and farmland with hedges and scattered larger trees. Unlike most woodpeckers, feeds mainly on the ground, including garden lawns, probing into anthills and moving with an odd, shuffling gait. Gives loud, bright “kee-kee-kee-kee-kee” and drums rather infrequently.
Identification
The European green woodpecker measures 30–36 cm (12–14 in) in length with a 45–51 cm (18–20 in) wingspan. Both sexes are green above and pale yellowish green below, with yellow rump and red crown and nape; the moustachial stripe has a red centre in the male but is solid black in the female. The lores and around the white eye are black in both male and female, except in the Iberian race P. v. subsp. sharpei, in which it is dark grey and males have only a lower black border to the moustache. Juveniles are spotty and streaked all over; the moustache is dark initially, though juvenile males can show some red feathers by early June or usually by July or August.<p>Moult takes place between June and November with the first flight feathers being lost around the time the young fledge. Juveniles moult quickly after fledging and gain their adult plumage between August and November.<p>Although the European green woodpecker is shy and wary, it is usually its loud calls, known as yaffling, which first draw attention. It 'drums' rarely (a soft, fast roll), but often gives a noisy kyü-kyü-kyück while flying. The song is a loud series of 10–18 'klü' sounds which gets slightly faster towards the end and falls slightly in pitch. The female makes a thinner pü-pü-pü-pü-pü-pü-pü. The flight is undulating, with 3–4 wingbeats followed by a short glide when the wings are held by the body.<p>It can be distinguished from the similar, but smaller, grey-headed woodpecker by its yellowish, not grey, underparts, and the black lores and facial 'mask'. In Europe, its green upperparts and yellow rump can lead to confusion with the grey-headed woodpecker or possibly the female golden oriole, though the latter is smaller and more slender with narrower wings and longer tail. The closely related, very similar Levaillant's woodpecker occurs only in north-west Africa.
Taxonomy
The European green woodpecker was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Picus viridis. The type locality is Sweden. The scientific name is derived from the Latin picus, meaning "woodpecker", and viridis meaning "green". It is member of the order Piciformes and the woodpecker family Picidae.<p>There are three subspecies, with subtle and mostly clinal differences between them.<p>The Iberian green woodpecker (Picus sharpei) and Levaillant's woodpecker (Picus vaillantii) were formerly considered as subspecies of the European green woodpecker. They are now treated as separate species based on the results of two molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2011.
- Scientific name
- Picus viridis
- Authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Picus
Range and habitat
More than 75% of the range of the European green woodpecker is in Europe, where it is absent from some northern and eastern parts and from Ireland, Greenland and the Macaronesian Islands, but otherwise distributed widely. Over half of the European population is thought to be in France and Germany, with substantial numbers also in United Kingdom, Sweden, Russia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. It also occurs in western Asia.<p>The European green woodpecker has a large range and an Estimated Global Extent of Occurrence of between 1 million to 10 million square kilometres, and a population in the region of 920,000 to 2.9 million birds. Populations appear to be stable, so the species is considered of Least Concern. The species is highly sedentary and individuals rarely move more than around 500 m between breeding seasons.<p>A combination of old deciduous trees for nesting, and nearby feeding grounds with plenty of ants, is essential. This is usually found in semi-open landscapes with small woodlands, hedges, scattered old trees, edges of forests and floodplain forests. Suitable habitats for foraging include grassland, heaths, plantations, orchards and lawns.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: rising.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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