European Green Woodpecker

The European Green Woodpecker is a fairly large woodpecker, with a predominantly green plumage which has given it its name. This is the first thing you notice when confronted with this species. Then it is the vivid red of the head that stands out. The bright green, slightly tinged with yellow, covers the upper body, from the nape to the tail, as well as the coverts. The rump and tail coverts are clearly more yellow. The flight and tail feathers, of grey-brown, are clearly barred with blackish. The underparts are of a grayish white with a yellowish tint that increases in intensity from front to back. Thus, the throat and cheeks are whitish, while the lower abdomen is clearly yellow, but there are individual variations. The feathers of the back of the flanks and the undertail, yellowish and bordered with blackish, give an scaly appearance. The tricoloured head, red, black and white, is remarkable. Both sexes have a vivid red hood that reaches the nape, a black colour on the lores, the eye rim and the moustache, and finally the throat and parotids are whitish. The white iris stands out well on the black cheek. The beak is yellowish or horn, with a dark tip. The small sexual dimorphism of this species is located on the head. The male has a red band in the black moustache, while the female does not. The very clawed legs are brownish or grayish. The juvenile can be easily distinguished from the adult. It is much darker, less green, and its plumage is almost entirely marked with stripes, bars and mottles. The top is of dull green mottled with yellowish-gray. The underside is whitish-gray and is completely barred with blackish and the sides of the head have stripes of the same colour. The red of the cap is not as bright.