TheEuropean green woodpecker (Picus viridis), also known as theyaffle and sometimes called anickle, is a large greenwoodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and thewestern Palearctic but inSpain andPortugal it is replaced by the similarIberian green woodpecker (Picus sharpei).
The European green woodpecker spends much of its time feeding onants on the ground and does not often 'drum' on trees like other woodpecker species. Though its vivid green and red plumage is particularly striking, it is a shy bird, and is more often heard than seen, drawing attention with itsloud calls. A nest hole is excavated in a tree; four to six eggs are laid which hatch after 19–20 days.
P. v. innominatus (Zarudny &Loudon, 1905), which breeds in south-west and southern Iran, is likekarelini but with nearly white cheeks, throat and chest and more defined barring on the tail.[7]
The European green woodpecker measures 30–36 cm (12–14 in) in length with a 45–51 cm (18–20 in) wingspan. Both sexes are green above and pale yellowish green below, with yellow rump and red crown and nape; the moustachial stripe has a red centre in the male but is solid black in the female. Thelores and around the white eye are black in both male and female, except in theIberian raceP. v. subsp.sharpei, in which it is dark grey and males have only a lower black border to the moustache. Juveniles are spotty and streaked all over;[10] the moustache is dark initially, though juvenile males can show some red feathers by early June or usually by July or August.[7]
Moult takes place between June and November with the first flight feathers being lost around the time the young fledge. Juveniles moult quickly after fledging and gain their adult plumage between August and November.[11]
Although the European green woodpecker is shy and wary, it is usually its loud calls, known as yaffling, which first draw attention. It 'drums' rarely (a soft, fast roll), but often gives a noisykyü-kyü-kyück while flying. The song is a loud series of 10–18 'klü' sounds which gets slightly faster towards the end and falls slightly in pitch.[10] The female makes a thinnerpü-pü-pü-pü-pü-pü-pü.[12] The flight is undulating, with 3–4 wingbeats followed by a short glide when the wings are held by the body.[13]
It can be distinguished from the similar, but smaller,grey-headed woodpecker by its yellowish, not grey, underparts, and the black lores and facial 'mask'.[7] In Europe, its green upperparts and yellow rump can lead to confusion with the grey-headed woodpecker or possibly the femalegolden oriole, though the latter is smaller and more slender with narrower wings and longer tail. The closely related,[13] very similarLevaillant's woodpecker occurs only in north-westAfrica.[10]
More than 75% of the range of the European green woodpecker is inEurope, where it is absent from some northern and eastern parts and fromIreland,Greenland and theMacaronesian Islands, but otherwise distributed widely. Over half of the European population is thought to be in France and Germany, with substantial numbers also inUnited Kingdom,Sweden,Russia,Croatia,Romania andBulgaria.[14] It also occurs in westernAsia.[13]
The European green woodpecker has a large range and an Estimated Global Extent of Occurrence of between 1 million to 10 million square kilometres, and a population in the region of 920,000 to 2.9 million birds. Populations appear to be stable, so the species is considered of Least Concern.[15] The species is highly sedentary[12] and individuals rarely move more than around 500 m between breeding seasons.[13]
A combination of old deciduous trees for nesting, and nearby feeding grounds with plenty ofants, is essential. This is usually found in semi-open landscapes with small woodlands,hedges, scattered old trees, edges of forests and floodplain forests. Suitable habitats for foraging include grassland,heaths,plantations,orchards andlawns.[15]
The nesting hole is larger but similar to those of the other woodpeckers. It may be a few feet above the ground or at the top of a tall tree;oaks,beeches,willows and fruit trees are the preferred nest trees in western and central Europe, andaspens in the north.[14] The hole may be excavated in sound or rotten wood, with an entrance hole of 60 mm × 75 mm (2.4 in × 3.0 in). The cavity inside may be 150 mm wide and up to 40 cm (16 in) deep[16] and the work is performed mostly by the male over 15–30 days. Some tree holes are used for breeding for more than 10 years, but not necessarily by the same pair.[13]
There is a single brood of four to six white eggs, measuring 31 mm × 23 mm (1.22 in × 0.91 in) and weighing 8.9 g (0.31 oz) each, of which 7% is shell. After the last egg is laid, they are incubated for 19–20 days by both parents taking shifts of between 1.5 and 2.5 hours.[13] The chicks are naked andaltricial at hatching and fledge after 21–24 days.[17]
The main food of the European green woodpecker isants of thegeneraLasius andFormica[15] for which it spends much of its time foraging on the ground,[10] though otherinsects and smallreptiles are also taken occasionally.[13] The bird's distinctive, elongated, cylindrical droppings often consist entirely of ant remains.[16] At ant nests, it probes into the ground and licks up adult ants and their larvae.[13] They have tongues that wrap to the back of their head.[18] Green woodpeckers will often forage in short grazed or mown permanent grasslands where the availability of ant nests is high.[19]
Dropping opened to show ant remains
A study of a nest inRomania found that 10 species of ant were fed to the chicks. During the first 10 days, the young received an average of 15 g (0.53 oz) each, from days 10–20, 39.5 g (1.39 oz), and from day 20, 49.3 g (1.74 oz). The seven chicks consumed an estimated 1.5 million ants and pupae before leaving the nest.[13]
The beak is relatively weak and used for pecking in soft wood only.[13] In common with otherwoodpecker species,[20] the green woodpecker's tongue is long (10 cm) and has to be curled around its skull.[17] It lacks the barbs of theDendrocoposwoodpeckers andblack woodpecker (Dryocopus martius),[13] but is made sticky by secretions from the enlarged salivary glands.[13] Heavy, prolonged snow cover makes feeding difficult for the green woodpecker and can result in high mortality, from which it may take ten years for the population to recover.[15] Ant nests can be located under the snow; one bird was observed to dig 85 cm to reach a nest.[13]
'Professor Yaffle', the woodenbookend character in the 1974 children's animation seriesBagpuss,[21][22] was based loosely upon the green woodpecker.[23] 'Yaffle' was among manyEnglish folk names for the European green woodpecker relating to its laughing call; others include laughing Betsey, yaffingale, yappingale and Jack Eikle. Other names, including rain-bird, weather cock and wet bird, suggest its supposed ability to bring on rain.[24][25] The species has been the subject ofpostage stamps from several countries.[26] The European green woodpecker is associated withWoodpecker Cider, an image of the bird is used on the merchandise.[27] The woodpecker was thetotem of theItalic tribe of thePicentes,[28] and features of the coat of arms andflag of the Italian region of theMarches.[29]
^Gould, John; Hart, William; Richter, Henry; Wolf, JosephMatthew (1873).The birds of Great Britain. Vol. 3. London: Printed by Taylor and Francis, published by the author.OCLC4275233.
^Pons, J.-M.; Olioso, G.; Cruaud, C.; Fuchs, J. (2011). "Phylogeography of the Eurasian green woodpecker (Picus viridis)".Journal of Biogeography.38 (2):311–325.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02401.x.S2CID85704825.
^abcdMullarney, Killian; Svensson, Lars; Zetterstrom, Dan; Grant, Peter (1999).Collins Bird Guide. London: HarperCollins. pp. 224–225.ISBN978-0-00-219728-1.
^abcdefghijklmBWPi:The Birds of the Western Palearctic on interactive DVD-ROM. London: BirdGuides Ltd. and Oxford University Press. 2004.ISBN978-1-898110-39-2.
^abTucker, Graham M.; Heath, Melanie F. (1995).Birds in Europe: Their Conservation Status. BirdLife Conservation Series. Vol. 3. Cambridge:BirdLife International. pp. 346–347.ISBN978-0-946888-29-0.
^abBrown, Roy; Ferguson, John; Lawrence, Michael; Lees, David (1999).Tracks & Signs of the Birds of Britain & Europe – an Identification Guide. London: Helm. p. 91.ISBN978-0-7136-5208-6.
^Alder, D., & Marsden, S. (2010). Characteristics of feeding‐site selection by breeding Green WoodpeckersPicus viridis in a UK agricultural landscape.Bird study,57(1), 100–107.
^"Woodpecker".Wild animals. HowStuffWorks.com. 2008-04-22. Retrieved4 January 2011.
^Strabo. "Book V, Chapter 4, Sections 2 and 12".Geography.The Picentini are originally from the Sabine country, a woodpecker having led the way ... and hence their name, for they call this bird 'picus', and consider it sacred toMars
^Vagnat, Pascal (22 September 1998)."Marche Region (Italy)".www.crwflags.com. Retrieved21 February 2019.
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