- Dendrocopos syriacus
Identification
23-25cm
- Glossy black upperparts
- Crimson spot on nape
- White sides of face and neck
- Large white shoulder patch
- Flight feathers barred black and white
- Buff underparts
- Red undertail coverts
- Black bill
- Greenish-grey legs
Female: lacks crimson nape patch
Similar Species
Distribution
Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia
Eastern Europe: Austria, Belarus, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Hungary, Balkans, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Crete, Corfu, Rhodes, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova
Northern Africa: found only in Egypt
Middle East: Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
Asia: found only in Russia
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Two subspecies, transcaucasicus and milleri are not recognised by most authorities[1].
Habitat
Forests, open woodland, scrubland, parks and gardens.
Behaviour
Diet
Includes insects, moths, beetles and larvae; when insects are scarce they eat seeds and berries.
Breeding
A 5cm nesting hole is bored into soft wood and the chamber is lined with woodchips. The clutch consists of 11 cream-colored eggs.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Avibase
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Syrian Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Syrian_Woodpecker
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
