Gallery: Middle Spotted Woodpecker

Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius by Nigel Sprowell. October 2010, Bukk Hills, Hungary. 

Quiz woodpecker 37

Which European woodpecker is this ? And why ?

Gallery: a pair of Syrian Woodpeckers

A pair of Syrian Woodpeckers Dendrocopos syriacus. Photo taken in Hungary by Nigel Sprowell.

Recommended Reading: The Cult of the Green Bird

This fascinating little book THE CULT OF THE GREEN BIRD - The Mythology of the Green Woodpecker by Antony Clare Lees details the remarkable role that Green Woodpecker Picus viridis has had in history, fable and legend. The species has been, across its European range, regarded as a  weather-forecaster, an oracle, the leader of tribes and even a monarch. It's well worth a look! It is published by Scotforth Books, 2002.