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15

Black Woodpecker

(Dryocopus martius)
German name(s): "Schwarzspecht"
Size: 40-46 cm; wing span: 67-73 cm
Weight: 250-400 g
Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Black Woodpecker at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Near-frontal view of a male Black Woodpecker - note the all-red cap (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Ovcarsko-Kablarski Canyon, near Cacak, Serbia, October 2017]

FEMALE

Lateral view of a female Black Woodpecker - note the small red cap at the back of the head (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, July 2018]

Lateral view of a female Black Woodpecker (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, July 2018]

Lateral view of a female Black Woodpecker (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, July 2018]

Lateral/ventral view of a female Black Woodpecker (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Bois de Vincennes, 12th district, Paris, France, March 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a female Black Woodpecker (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Bois de Vincennes, 12th district, Paris, France, March 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a female Black Woodpecker (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Bois de Vincennes, 12th district, Paris, France, March 2021]

Dorsal view of a female Black Woodpecker (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Bois de Vincennes, 12th district, Paris, France, March 2021]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

blwoodp_dw_20210828.m4a (Poland) Territorial calls(?) © DW
blwoodp_dw_20180430.m4a (Poland) Territorial calls(?), with Common Blackbird © DW

More Black Woodpecker sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.