Black Woodpecker

Voice

Two very different calls: a loud, far-carrying kree-kree-kree in flight and a plaintive, drawn-out kweeh from a perch. The drum roll is the longest of any European woodpecker — two to three seconds, slow and booming, audible far through the forest.

Identification

Entirely black with an ivory-white bill and a pale iris that gives the face a staring expression. Males have a fully red crown, females only a red patch on the hindcrown. The flight is distinctive: powerful but somewhat irregular and loose, lacking the bounding pattern of smaller woodpeckers.

Confusion species

In flight and at distance, Carrion Crow — note the straight, slightly jerky wingbeats, longer neck and pale bill. Confusion with other woodpeckers is ruled out by size alone.

Habitat

Extensive mature deciduous and coniferous forest with large trees: beech for nest holes, Scots pine and standing deadwood for food. Forages much on the ground and on stumps, specialising in ants and longhorn beetle larvae.

Range and movements

From Spain and France to Scandinavia, Russia and Japan; in the Netherlands mainly the Veluwe, Utrechtse Heuvelrug, Drenthe, Brabant and Limburg. The species benefits from Dutch forests reaching greater age.

• Resident
• Breeding (summer)
• Winter
• Passage
• dark = core range, pale = thinly spread

Where and when to look

February to April, ideally on a quiet morning. Look for the characteristic tall oval or rectangular holes in smooth beech trunks and for large excavations at the base of dead stumps. Those holes are later used by Stock Dove, Tawny Owl, Tengmalm's Owl and even Pine Marten.

Conservation status

Not threatened (IUCN: Least Concern) and slowly expanding in western Europe. Retaining large old trees and standing deadwood is the key condition; clear-felling and deadwood removal make the species disappear immediately.