Recommended Reading:

Compared to most other bird families woodpeckers have not been widely written about. There are many ornithological studies but very few books on the Picidae for general reading. From those available one of the best is My Year With The Woodpeckers by Heinz Sielmann. This wonderful book deals mainly with Black Woodpeckers in Germany and how they were first filmed in the nesting cavity for BBC television in the 1950s. It is out of print but can be found in antiquarian book shops and on the internet. My English language copy dates from 1961 and was published by the Readers Union, London.