Alternative name: Grey-faced Woodpecker
- Picus canus
Disambiguation: The African Eastern Grey Woodpecker is sometimes also known as Grey-headed Woodpecker.
Identification
European birds: green wings, tail, and mantle, with the rest mostly grey. Narrow black moustacial stripe, narrow black lores (but not black behind eyes), and eyes are dark. Male has a small red area from the peak of the crown towards the bill, the female has some black stripes in the same area. Northern races are greyer overall with grey crown, southern and eastern races are greener with blacker crown and the isolated races robinsoni from Malaya and dedemi from Sumatra are small and dark.
Distribution
Main breeding range lies from Europe east to Sakhalin, Hokkaido, throughout much of China, the Himalayas and South-east China south to Vietnam. In Europe breeds in southern Scandinavia and central and eastern Europe south to northern Greece and eastwards to the Urals. Also has a patchy distribution further west breeding in west and central France, Luxembourg and central and southern Germany, northern Switzerland, northern Italy and more widely in Austria. Recently found to be breeding in north-eastern and western Turkey. In the east of range there are isolated populations in north-east India, the mountains of Malaysia and Sumatra, on Taiwan and Hainan.
Mainly resident but short-distance dispersal common and altitudinal movements recorded. Very rarely seen outside breeding range but has been recorded in the Spanish Pyrenees, the Netherlands and Turkey, and in March 1992 reported in Circeo National Park, Italy, well south of known Italian range.
Taxonomy
11 subspecies are recognised[1].
Habitat
Diverse woodlands including coniferous taiga forest, temperate deciduous woodland and subtropical forest, bamboo groves. Where both occur usually found in more upland areas than Green Woodpecker. In Scandinavia found in coniferous forest mixed with aspen but in central Europe found in deciduous and riparian forest, small woods in farmland, parks and large gardens. Drums more frequently than Green Woodpecker. Feeds on the ground, usually solitary.
References
- Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
