Iberian Green Woodpecker
Picus sharpei
About This Species
A woodland and open-country woodpecker endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, favoring parkland, orchards, and forest edges with open ground for feeding on ants. Its laughing, ringing call carries a long distance and is often the easiest way to locate it, since it can be shy and spends much time feeding on the ground or on ant mounds rather than in the open on tree trunks. Spring is the best season, when territorial calling peaks and pairs are more vocal and visible.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Because it feeds low or on the ground, a slow approach and a viewing distance of at least 20 metres with binoculars reduces the risk of flushing it before a good view is obtained.
- As a native wild bird in Spain and Portugal, it is protected from killing, trapping, and nest disturbance under national and EU wildlife law, including the EU Birds Directive.
- Avoid approaching nest holes in old trees, especially during the spring breeding season.
LCAvesPiciformesPicidae
Seasonal Activity
267,884 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
Photo
(c) Pablo Pozo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Pablo Pozo
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.