Galley: Eurasian Green Woodpecker in snow

This male (note red malar stripe) Eurasian Green Woodpecker Picus viridis, is digging through snow to get at prey. Photo taken in Budapest, Hungary. December 23rd, 2012, by Gerard Gorman.

Gallery: White-backed Woodpecker male

Male White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos by Thomas Hochebner, December 2012, near Eschenau, Austria.

'The Woodpecker Has To Go!'

Laura from Liverpool sent me this picture. Apparently God said...

'The woodpecker has to go !' 

Gallery: Middle Spotted Woodpecker bathing

A great shot of a Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius just after bathing. Photographed by Josip Ledinscak in an orchard in Croatia, in November 2012.

Gallery: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker male

Male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor. Photo taken in Soomaa NP, Estonia, May 2012, by Gerard Gorman

Gallery: White-backed Woodpecker male

White-backed Woodpecker. Male nominate race Dendrocopos leucotos leucotos. Taken by Gerard Gorman, Bukk Hills, Hungary, October 2012.

Quiz Woodpecker 32

Which species and sex is this woodpecker ? Photo taken in Hungary, October 2012, by Gerard Gorman.

Gallery: Black Woodpecker flying to nest

Female Black Woodpecker arriving at the nest hole in a plane tree. Photo taken in Connezac, France. Copyright Yann Cambon.

Gallery: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker female

Female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor. Photo taken in the Bukk Hills, Hungary, October 2012, by Gerard Gorman.

Request for photos

As mentioned before, I am writing a new guide on the woodpeckers of the world. Previously I asked that those of you sending photos for possible inclusion in the book should send them to the editor at the publisher in London. However, it is now possible to send samples directly to me. So, if you have good photos of any woodpecker, from anywhere in the world, then I would be glad to see them. At this stage small sample jpg files are fine. Thank you. Gerard Gorman.  

Gallery: Black Woodpecker in flight

Black Woodpecker in flight, Bukk Hills, Hungary. Colin Brown.

Gallery: Middle Spotted Woodpecker

Lovely shot of a Middle Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos medius by Thomas Hochebner, Eschenau, Austria.

Quiz Woodpecker 31

Which European woodpecker species in this ? Photo by Colin Brown. 

Gallery: Eurasian Wryneck

A great shot of a Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla in a typical pose on the ground. Photo taken in England by Neil Bowman.

Talk on Black Woodpecker

I will be giving a short illustrated talk on the Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius at the British Bird Fair at Rutland Water, England. Time: Saturday 18th August, 2.30pm. Photo by Thomas Hochebner, Austria.

Black Woodpecker feeding holes

Typical, large, oval-shaped, foraging holes made by Black Woodpecker (with fellow woodpecker enthusiast Andras Schmidt). Photo taken by Ilona Schmidt in the Low Tartras, Slovakia, July, 2012.  

Gallery: Black Woodpecker female

Female Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius in classic pose by the nest-hole. Male has complete red crown, female only at rear. Photo by Thomas Hochebner taken in Austria in spring 2012.

Black Woodpecker work on a barn

This photo shows the work of Black Woodpecker on a barn door-post. This kind of foraging activity does not endear woodpeckers to everyone but it does show how inventive they are! The door-post was rotten and full of insects.Photo taken in Northern Spain, April 2012, by Gerard Gorman

Talk on the Black Woodpecker

I will be giving a short illustrated talk THE BLACK WOODPECKER - EUROPE'S LARGEST PICID at the British Birdwatching Fair at Rutland Water on Saturday 18th August from 2.30pm..Click here for details:
http://www.birdfair.org.uk/events/the-black-woodpecker-europes-largest-picid-gerard-gorman

Gallery: Wryneck in hole

Another shot of Wryneck (same bird as in previous post). Photo by Gerard Gorman, Bukks Hills, Hungary, June 2012

Gallery: Wryneck

Wrynecks Jynx torquilla do not excavate their own cavities. This one used the old nest-hole of a Middle Spotted Woodpecker to raise its brood. Photo by Gerard Gorman, Bukks Hills, Hungary, June 2012.

Gallery: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker male

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor. Europe's smallest picid species. This is a male, note the red crown. Photo by Gerard Gorman, Estonia, May 2012.

Habitat: mature Pyrenean beech forest

Mature beechwoods in the Pyrenees Mountains are home to the lilfordi race of White-backed Woodpecker as well as Great Spotted and Black Woodpeckers. Iberian Green Woodpecker breeds in more open areas and at edges. Photo by Gerard Gorman, Western Pyrenees, Navarra, Spain, 2012.

Artwork - Black Woodpecker

This black-and-white drawing by Szabolcs Kokay shows two adult male Black Woodpeckers in dispute. It appears in the monograph The Black Woodpecker (Lynx Edcions), on page71, at the beginning of the chapter BEHAVIOUR.

Woodpeckers as providers of nest-holes

Many secondary cavity users depend upon woodpecker holes, which are primary cavity creators, for nesting sites. This Tengmalm's (Aka Boreal) Owl Aegolius funereus chick has been raised in an old cavity of Black Woodpecker. In some regions the distribution of this owl closely mirrors that of the woodpecker. Photo by Thomas Hochebner in Lower Austria, spring 2012. 

Atypical Black Woodpecker

Male Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius with pale brown tones in wing plumage. Photo by Yann Cambon taken in the Connezac district, Dordogne, France.

Gallery: Syrian Woodpecker male

Adult male Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopus syriacus. Kunszentmiklos, Hungary, May 2012, Gerard Gorman. Note brown tones in the wing. Which may be due to wear or lack of pigment. 

Tremendous Work by Black Woodpecker

This photo illustrates very well what a powerful carpenter Black Woodpecker is ! Photo taken in the Alam-Pedja Reserve, Estonia, May 2012, by Gerard Gorman.

A Really Unique Photo

My friend Thomas Hochebner grabbed this shot of a female White-backed Woodpecker (bottom left) and a female Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker (top) in the same tree, in Austria. Now these two species are arguably Europe's two most difficult woodpeckers to find and observe and finding them together like this is really special. I was able to get sound recordings of both of these birds. 

Gallery: Syrian Woodpecker

Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopus syriacus. On this shot the bird's sex is unclear as the nape cannot be seen (red in male, black in female). Apaj, Hungary, April 2012, Gerard Gorman.

Gallery: Male Black Woodpecker

Male Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius arriving at the nest-hole. Photo by Yann Cambon taken in the Connezac district, Dordogne, France.

Gallery: Black Woodpecker male

Male Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius at its nesting cavity. Male has all-red crown, female red only on rear-crown. Photo taken in Hungary by Laszlo Becsy.

Gallery: Green Woodpecker male

Male Green Woodpecker Picus viridis. Hertfordshire, UK, photo by Dave Attrill.

Feeding Sign: White-backed Woodpecker

Feeding evidence of White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos. Such fine, shallow shaving on standing dead trees or stumps is typically done by this species in winter. Photo taken in Slovakia by Gerard Gorman. 

Recommended Reading: HBW Volume 7.

Volume 7 of Handbook of the Birds of the World (Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 2002) covers Jacamars to Woodpeckers, with 260 pages devoted to the Picidae. These pages, authored by Hans Winkler and David Christie, are an essential reference for all who are interested in woodpeckers. With both authors being European, the 10 European species are expertly presented.

Gallery: Syrian Woodpecker male

Male Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus. Photo taken in Gühlane Park, Istanbul, Turkey, Feb 2012, by Bill Benish.

Gallery: Syrian Woodpecker on utility-pole

Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus is often found in and around settlements. Photo taken in Abaujker, Hungary, 2011, by Gerard Gorman.

Quiz woodpecker 47

Which European woodpecker did this ? OK, fairly easy, but tell what this is exactly ? And why do you think it is that species and not another ?  

Gallery: Syrian Woodpecker female

A very interesting shot of a female Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus on the ground out in the open. Taken in Bulgaria by Mladen Vasilev. Check out more of his photos here: Mladen Vasilev Wildlife.

Recommended Reading: Woodpeckers

The current standard book on world woodpeckers is WOODPECKERS: A guide to the Woodpeckers, Piculets and Wrynecks of the World by Hans Winkler, David A Christie and David Nurney. Published in 1995 by Pica Press, UK. Though numerous taxonomic and vernacular name changes have occurred since this volume was published, it remains the standard work. Anyone interested in picids should have this fine book.