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.