European Green Woodpecker
Picus viridis
Also known as: Green Woodpecker, Eurasian Green Woodpecker, Picot Verd
Habitat
Ground
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
176 g
About This Species
Look for this large, yellow-green woodpecker on lawns, pastures and woodland edges where it probes ant nests with its long tongue rather than drumming on trees. Its loud, laughing call, often described as a yaffle, carries well and is usually the first clue to its presence before it is seen. Spring is the best time to hear this call during territorial disputes, while any mild, dry day is good for watching it feed on the ground.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Stay back at least 20 to 30 metres and watch from cover, since it flushes easily from open ground and prefers to feed undisturbed.
- Wild birds and their nests are legally protected across most of its European range, with specific rules on disturbance at the nest during the breeding season, so avoid approaching any nest hole in a tree.
- Keep dogs on a lead nearby, as ground foraging is easily interrupted by loose animals.
LCAvesPiciformesPicidae
Seasonal Activity
2,220,711 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 176 g
Photo
(c) Dmitry P., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Dmitry P.
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.