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.