European Green Woodpeckers are relatively large woodpeckers.
They have an off-white to light-grey front
and ear coverts, a black facial mask and cheek patch, and an olive-grey
back and uppertail. The flight feathers and the outer tail feathers are
dark-grey with white spots.
The only difference between the sexes is that
males
have a red centre to their otherwise black cheek patch, while
females
have all-black cheek patches.
The irises of both sexes are light-grey. The straight, pointy bill is
dark-grey. Legs and feet are grey. Like all other treecreepers and related species
they have long toes, of which two are pointing forward and two
backward.
Juvenile
birds have all-spotted and vermiculated
plumage, but the
underlying ground colours are similar to those of adult birds.
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the European Green Woodpecker is available
HERE
.
There are three races of European Green Woodpeckers which,
taken altogether, populate most of Europe and most of Asia
Minor. They are also found around the Caucasus mountain
range and in northern Iran.
European Green Woodpeckers populate most of Europe, EXCEPT central
and northern Scandinavia, all of Ireland, the Mediterranean
islands and southern Greece. They are also absent from most
of Ukraine and the northern and eastern parts of European Russia.
European Green Woodpeckers can be found in a variety of habitats,
from various types of forest and woodland (mixed and deciduous)
to parks and gardens, wherever there are trees suitable for
nesting.
Sightings
Click here for sighting information
Race "viridis"
European Green Woodpeckers, nominate race
"viridis",
were spotted by H. Dahlem-Senger near Eltville, Hessen,
Germany, in January 2017, and another by M. Thomas, again in Eltville
in December 2017. The species was also found by H. Dahlem-Senger at
Kiedrich, Hessen, Germany, in March 2021.
An European Green Woodpecker, nominate race
"viridis"(?),
was caught, ringed and photographed by S. Cuturilov in Ovcarsko-Kablarski
Canyon, near Cacak, Serbia, in October 2017. Another underwent the same
procedure at Vlasina Lake, Serbia, in October 2019.
These locations are close to the border with race "karelini" (not shown here).
D. Wilczynska reports finding European Green Woodpeckers, nominate race
"viridis",
near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, in April 2018, and another
near Brok, Masovia, Poland, in July 2018.
G. Normand found an European Green Woodpecker,
nominate race
"viridis",
20 km North of Lille, Hauts-de-France, France, in June 2020.
They are also found semi-regularly in different parts of Paris, France.
Race "sharpei"
J. Pires reports finding European Green
Woodpeckers, race
"sharpei",
in Quinta de los Molinos Park and Casa de Campo Park, Madrid, Spain,
in November/December 2020.
Photos
Race "viridis"
ADULT
MALE
Lateral view of a male European Green Woodpecker - note the red
centre of the dark cheek patch; this bird was caught to be
ringed and released again (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Ovcarsko-Kablarski Canyon, near Cacak, Serbia, October 2017]
Lateral view of a male European Green Woodpecker
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, Masovia, Poland, July 2018]
Dorsal view of a male European Green Woodpecker
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, Masovia, Poland, July 2018]
FEMALE
Near-lateral portrait of a female European Green Woodpecker
- note the absence of red in the cheek patch
(photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Pere Lachaise cemetery, 20th district, Paris, France, December 2020]
Near-dorsal view of a female European Green Woodpecker foraging
on the ground in snowy conditions (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, December 2017]
Race "sharpei"
This race is also called the "Iberian Green Woodpecker".
ADULT
MALE
Near-frontal view of a male European Green Woodpecker - note the red
cheek patch (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Quinta de los Molinos Park, Madrid, Spain, November 2019]
Lateral view of a male European Green Woodpecker
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Quinta de los Molinos Park, Madrid, Spain, November 2019]
Lateral view of a male European Green Woodpecker
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Quinta de los Molinos Park, Madrid, Spain, November 2019]
Near-dorsal view of a male European Green Woodpecker
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Quinta de los Molinos Park, Madrid, Spain, November 2019]
Near-dorsal view of a male European Green Woodpecker
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Quinta de los Molinos Park, Madrid, Spain, November 2019]
FEMALE
Lateral view of a female European Green Woodpecker - note
the black cheek patch
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Casa de Campo Park, Madrid, Spain, December 2019]
More European Green 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.