BIRDS

WOODPECKERS

Green Woodpeckers Picus viridis spend a lot of time on the ground searching for their favourite food... ants. If disturbed there is likely to be a yelp and a flash of yellow tail-feather as they seek the safety of a tree out of harm's way. If you see a pair on the ground nodding heads that looks like an intricate courtship dance it is likely to be two males having a dust up over territory. Males have red moustaches.

Great Spotted Woodpecker spends a lot of time clinging to trees and its drumming on trunks will often reveal its presence before it is seen. Males have a bright red patch on the back of the head (absent in females) and young birds have a red crown. They feed on insects, seeds and nuts.