European green woodpecker

Picus viridis

A large green woodpecker with a red crown, often feeding on ants on the ground and known for its laughing call.

Key facts

European green woodpecker (Picus viridis) is a carnivore animal classified as Bird · Piciformes · Picidae.
Primary habitats are forest · grassland · urban, with a range across Palearctic.
Activity is diurnal, sociality is solitary, and conservation status is LC (Least Concern).
A large green woodpecker with a red crown, often feeding on ants on the ground and known for its laughing call.
Uses open woods, pasture, orchards, parks, gardens, and woodland edges where short grassland occurs near cavity trees.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Uses open woods, pasture, orchards, parks, gardens, and woodland edges where short grassland occurs near cavity trees.

The back is green, the rump yellow, and the crown red. A black moustache mark is present, with red in the center on males.

Ground feeding is more frequent than heavy drumming. It flies in a bounding pattern and gives loud laughing territorial calls.

Ants and their larvae dominate the diet, taken from ground nests with a long sticky tongue.

Nest holes are excavated in trees and chicks are cared for by both adults. Old orchard and park trees can be important.

Globally low-risk, though local numbers can be affected by grassland management and loss of old trees.