Birds · Piciformes · Picidae

European Green Woodpecker

Picus viridis

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

Unlike most woodpeckers, it spends much of its time foraging on the ground rather than on trunks, breaking open anthills with its bill to get at ants and grubs.

Weight

up to 176 g

Size

30 cm – 36 cm

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestInsectivore Diurnal Solitary Bird Temperate forest

47countries 209parks14same family

Fun facts

It is the largest woodpecker in the British Isles.
It feeds mainly on ants and their grubs, drawn out of the ground on its long sticky tongue.
It lives in open woodland, farmland and parks of the western Palaearctic.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Open woodland, farmland and parks of the western Palaearctic, often foraging on the ground
Birth weight: Weight at hatching not found as a precise figure
Size at birth: Born blind and naked
Sexual maturity: 1 year
Gestation / incubation: 18-19 days
Litter / clutch size: 4 to 8 eggs per clutch

Sources consulted: Bird Database; Planet of Birds; Brickfields Park; BirdLife DataZone; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Wikipedia (European green woodpecker); PMC (genome assembly study)