The European green woodpecker (Picus viridis) is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. There are four subspecies and it occurs in most parts of Europe and in western Asia. All have green upperparts, paler yellowish underparts, a red crown and moustachial stripe which has a red centre in males but is all black in females.


Description
The European green woodpecker measures 30–36 cm in length with a 45–51 cm 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. The lores and around the white eye are black in both male and female, except in the Iberian race P. 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; the moustache is dark initially, though juvenile males can show some red feathers by early June or usually by July or August.

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.

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 noisy kyü-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. The female makes a thinner pü-pü-pü-pü-pü-pü-pü. The flight is undulating, with 3–4 wingbeats followed by a short glide when the wings are held by the body.

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'. In Europe, its green upperparts and yellow rump can lead to confusion with the grey-headed woodpecker or possibly the female golden oriole, though the latter is smaller and more slender with narrower wings and longer tail. The closely related, very similar Levaillant's woodpecker occurs only in north-west Africa.


Breeding
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, and aspens in the north. The hole may be excavated in sound or rotten wood , 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.

There is a single brood of four to six white eggs , they are incubated for 19–20 days by both parents taking shifts of between . The chicks are naked and altricial at hatching and fledge after 21–24 days.

Food and feeding
The main food of the European green woodpecker is ants of the genera Lasius and Formica for which it spends much of its time foraging on the ground, though other insects and small reptiles are also taken occasionally. The bird's distinctive, elongated, cylindrical droppings often consist entirely of ant remains. At ant nests, it probes into the ground and licks up adult ants and their larvae. They have tongues that wrap to the back of their head. Green woodpeckers will often forage in short grazed or mown permanent grasslands where the availability of ant nests is high.

Asturian: Picaniellu
Azerbaijani: Yaşıl ağacdələn
Belarusian:, Зялёная жаўна
Bulgarian: zelen k"lvač
Breton: Ar gazeg-koad
Catalan: Picot verd
Montenegrin: zelena žuna
Czech: žluna, Žluna zelená
Welsh: Caseg wanwen
gwyrdd, Taradr y coed
Danish: Grønspætte
Greek: prasinotsiklitara
Πράσινος Δρυοκολάπτης
πρασινοτσικλιτήρα
English: Eurasian Green Woodpecker, European Green Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker)
Esperanto: verda pego
Estonian: meltsas, Roherähn
meltsas, roherähn meltsas
Basque: okil berde
Finnish: Vihertikka
Faroese: Sponspæta
Irish: cnagaire glas
Gaelic: Lasair Choille, Snagarach
Galician: Peto verde, Picot verd
Manx: snoggeyder glass
Croatian: zelena žuna
Hungarian: Zöld küllo
Armenian: Կանաչ Փայտփոր
Icelandic: Grænspæta
Georgian: მწვანე კოდალა
Cornish: kasek koes
Scientific: Picus viridis
Ladino: becalen vert
Luxembourgish: Grénge Spiecht
Macedonian: зелен клукаjдрвец
Moldavian: Ghionoaie verde
Maltese: Bulebbiet Aħdar
Dutch: Groene Specht
Norwegian: Gulspett, Løvspett
Occitan: pic verd
Polish: dzieciol zielony
Portuguese: peto verde, Peto-real
Picapau-verde
Portuguese (Portugal): Peto-real
Romansh: pitgalain verd
Romanian: ciocanitoare verde
Ghionoaie verde
Russian: zelenyj djate
ый дятел, Зелёный дятел
Sardinian: birde
Scots: cnag ghlas
Sindhi: ىا ٽٍ ةً جِٕ
Northern Sami: ruonáčáihni
Slovak: žlna zelená
Slovenian: zelena žolna
Albanian: qukapiku i gjelbër
Serbian: Зелена жунја, зелена жуња
Swedish: Gröngöling, Gröngölning
Turkmen: yeşil ağaçkakan
Sorbian, Upper: zeleny dypornak, žołma


Eurasian Green Woodpecker,Grünspecht,vihertikka,Picchio verde,ヨーロッパアオゲラ,žluna zelená,Grønspætte,Pito real euroasiático,Groene Specht,Grønnspett,dzięcioł zielony,Pica-pau-verde,Зелёный дятел,žlna zelená,gröngöling,Жовна зелена,绿啄木鸟,Picatueru,Yaşıl ağacdələn,Yeşil Ağaçkakan,žalioji meleta,Grénge Spiecht,נקר ירוק,petos,zala dzilna,ىا ٽٍ ةً جِٕ,cnag ghlas,birde,نَقَّار الخَشَبُ الأخضر الأوراسي,Picus viridis,دارکوب سبز