Black Woodpecker: distribution

Black Woodpecker is a widely distributed species in the Palearctic region. It is a resident, sedentary species which ranges across the cooler temperate regions of the Palearctic, in a zone falling roughly between 62 and 69 degrees north. Black Woodpeckers are not uncommon locally from Spain, France and the Low Countries in the west, to Italy and Greece to the south, as far as the Arctic Circle in the north and eastwards through the taiga belt into Asia. The nominate martius occurs over most of this vast area. In Europe Black Woodpeckers occur in suitable habitat from sea level to the timberline in uplands, breeding in 33 European countries, being absent only from Portugal (seen but no confirmed breeding), Iceland and Britain and Ireland. The species is also found on the island of Kefallinia, Greece, and used to breed on Sicily. In the Baltic Sea they are resident on Gotland, Aland, Bornholm and other islands.