black woodpecker

The black woodpecker was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Picus martius.{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=112 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | place=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=la | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727017}} Linnaeus gave the locality as Europe, but this is now taken to be Sweden.{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1948 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=6 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=151 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14477584 }} The black woodpecker is now placed in the genus Dryocopus that was introduced by the German naturalist Friedrich Boie in 1826.{{ cite journal | last=Boie | first=Friedrich | author-link=Friedrich Boie | year=1826 | title=Generalübersicht | journal=Isis von Oken | volume=19 | at=Col 977| language=de |url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27511180 }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | year=2020 | title=Woodpeckers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 10.1 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/woodpeckers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=26 May 2020 }}

Two subspecies are recognised:

File:Dryocopus pileatus 4zz.jpg

The black woodpecker measures {{convert|45|to|55|cm|in|abbr=on}} long with a {{convert|64|to|84|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan.{{cite book |title=The Birds of the Western Palearctic [Abridged] |year=1997 |publisher=OUP |isbn=0-19-854099-X}}Woodpeckers: An Identification Guide to the Woodpeckers of the World by Hans Winkler, David A. Christie & David Nurney. Houghton Mifflin (1995), {{ISBN|978-0395720431}} Body weight is approximately {{convert|250|to|400|g|oz|abbr=on}} on average.Brazil, M. (2009) Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia: Eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Eastern Russia. A&C Black, London. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is {{convert|22.7|to|26|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the tail is {{convert|15.9|to|17.3|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the very long bill is {{convert|5|to|6.7|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the tarsus is {{convert|3.6|to|4|cm|in|abbr=on}}. It is easily the largest woodpecker in its range and is second in size only to the great slaty woodpecker amongst the woodpecker species certain to exist (with the likely extinction of the largest and second largest woodpeckers), although its average mass is similar to that of the Magellanic woodpecker of South America. The closely related pileated and white-bellied woodpeckers also broadly overlap in size with the black woodpecker, but both are somewhat smaller in average and maximal size and mass. The plumage of this crow-sized woodpecker is entirely black apart from a red crown. In males, the entire crown is red, but in females only the top hindcrown is red, with the rest of the body all black. The juvenile black woodpecker is similar but is less glossy, with a duller red crown and a paler grey throat and bill .Perrins, C.M., Attenborough, D. and Arlott, N. (1987). New Generation Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe. University of Texas Press, Texas. The piercing yellow eyes and manic, high-pitched calls of the black woodpecker have made it the villain of fairy tales throughout its range. Their voice is remarkable in that it has two different calls. One is a short single high-pitched note, a loud, whistling kree-kree-kree, done only twice in a row. The other is a screech-like shrill while in flight. Unlike other woodpecker species, the black woodpecker does not have a dipping, bounding flight, but instead flies with slow, unsteady-seeming wing beats with its head raised.

File:Black Woodpecker taking an ant bath - HungaryCS4E4536 (15788008504).jpg bath in Hungary]]

The range of the black woodpecker spreads east from Spain across the whole of Europe, excluding Great Britain, Ireland, and northern Scandinavia. It is also native to parts of Asia, including Korea, Japan and China, and to the Middle East, including Iran and Kazakhstan. The southern limits of this woodpecker's range are in Spain and Italy, and it has also been recorded as a vagrant in Portugal. The species is generally more uncommon and more discontinuous in distribution in the Asian part of its range.Peterson, R.T., Mountfort, G. and Hollom, P.A.D. (1993) Collins Field Guide: Birds of Britain and Europe. HarperCollins Publishers, London.

The black woodpecker is mainly found in forested regions, with a preference for extensive, mature woodland, including coniferous, tropical, subtropical and boreal forests. It is very widespread throughout mountainous and lowland forests. It is more likely to occur in marginal woods near human habitations during the non-breeding season. This species has been observed at elevations between {{convert|100|and|2400|m|ft|abbr=on}}.

The black woodpecker is noticeably absent from the British Isles. Approximately 80 sightings of the species in the UK have been reported, but some of these are disputed, though the proximity of the British Isles to the species' range in Western Europe means that the species may cross over on a regular basis.{{Cite journal|date=April 1985|title=Range-expansion of the Black Woodpecker in Western Europe|url=https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V78/V78_N04/V78_N04_P184_187_A038.pdf|journal=British Birds|volume=78|pages=4}}

File:Dryocopus martius 02.jpg

File:Dryocopus martius MWNH 2211.JPG]]

The woodpecker feeds by using its bill to hammer on dead trees to dig out carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle grubs.{{Cite journal | last1=Rolstad | first1=Jorund | last2=Rolstad | first2=Erlend | last3=Sæteren | first3=Øyvind | date=2000 | title=Black woodpecker nest sites: characteristics, selection, and reproductive success | journal=Journal of Wildlife Management | jstor=3803216 | volume=64 | issue=4 | pages=1053–1066 | doi=10.2307/3803216}} The selection of foods is relatively predictable, narrow and consistent in this species.{{Cite journal | last=Mikusiński | first=Grzegorz | date=1995 | title=Population trends in black woodpecker in relation to changes and characteristics of European forests | journal=Ecography | volume=18 | issue=4 | pages=363–369 | doi=10.1111/j.1600-0587.1995.tb00139.x| bibcode=1995Ecogr..18..363M }} Like all woodpeckers, this species has a specially adapted neck containing very strong muscles, which allow it to endlessly hack away at tree bark. Due to the size of its bill and large size and great physical power of this bird, it can access prey fairly deep within a tree. In order to position itself correctly, it has short, stumpy legs, as well as long, sharp claws and very stiff tail feathers. The woodpecker will more than likely choose for its nest a tree with a fungal disease, such as heart rot, although some will utilise a living, healthy tree. Once a hole has been made, the black woodpecker chips downwards through the trunk of the tree, creating a nesting chamber, the only lining being the woodchips created throughout the process. The black woodpecker's excavations provide homes for many other species of bird and mammal, and is therefore considered to be a "keystone" species in many of its habitats throughout its range. It not only provides habitats for other species, but also controls populations of wood-boring insects, helping to protect the trees.Gorman, G. (2008) Central and Eastern European Wildlife. Bradt Travel Guides, Buckshire.

When the nest is ready, the female lays a single clutch of two to eight eggs, the average being four to six. The nest hole is usually dug in a live poplar or pine tree. The breeding pair take it in turns to incubate the eggs, also sharing duties of feeding and brooding the chicks once they have hatched. The nestlings may fight their way to the entrance of the nest in order to be fed first. After 18 to 35 days, the young black woodpeckers will leave the nest, staying with the adults for another week.

The black woodpecker is a fairly widely distributed woodland species and can successfully breed in most areas where extensive woodland is left. At one point, when much of Europe and Asia was deforested, this species declined and in some areas is still struggling today, including in the Pyrenees. They normally require mature trees and ample stands of dead trees to sustain a viable breeding population.{{cite journal|title=Forest management considerations for conservation of black woodpecker Dryocopus martius and white-backed woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos populations in Quinto Real (Spanish Western Pyrenees)|year=2006|doi=10.1007/s10531-005-5410-0|last1=Garmendia|first1=Alfonso|last2=Cárcamo|first2=Susana|last3=Schwendtner|first3=Oscar|s2cid=8616002|journal=Biodiversity and Conservation|volume=15|issue=4|pages=1399–1415|bibcode=2006BiCon..15.1399G }} However, with the restoration of some forested areas, black woodpeckers have increased in some parts of Europe. They are occasionally considered a nuisance species due to their damage to power lines, communication poles and houses, occasionally resulting in woodpecker mortality due to electrocution or being culled by humans.{{Cite journal | last=Turcek | first=F. J. | date=1960 | title=On the damage by birds to power and communication lines | journal=Bird Study | volume=7 | issue=4 | pages=231–236 | doi=10.1080/00063656009475975 | doi-access=free | bibcode=1960BirdS...7..231T }} The main cause of nesting failures appears to be predation.{{Cite journal | last=Martin | first=Thomas E. | date=1993 | title=Evolutionary determinants of clutch size in cavity-nesting birds: nest predation or limited breeding opportunities? | journal=American Naturalist | jstor=2462692 | volume=142 | issue=6 | pages=937–946| doi=10.1086/285582 | pmid=19425942 | bibcode=1993ANat..142..937M | s2cid=5299388 }} Their main natural predator is the pine marten (Martes martes), which feeds on eggs, nestlings and brooding females and then often takes over the nest hole of the woodpeckers for its own.{{Cite journal | last1=Nilsson | first1=S.G. | last2=Johnsson | first2=K. | last3=Tjernberg | first3=M. | s2cid=53147765 | date=1991 | title=Is avoidance by black woodpeckers of old nest holes due to predators? | journal=Animal Behaviour | volume=41 | issue=3 | pages=439–441 | doi=10.1016/S0003-3472(05)80845-0}} Other than the marten, there are notably few known natural predators of black woodpeckers.{{cite journal|doi=10.5735/086.046.0503|title=Nest Predation and Nest Defence in European and North American Woodpeckers: A Review|year=2009|last1=Paclík|first1=Martin|last2=Misík|first2=Jan|last3=Weidinger|first3=Karel|s2cid=86330780|journal=Annales Zoologici Fennici|volume=46|issue=5|pages=361–379}} Western jackdaws (Coloeus monedula) are notably regular usurpers of this species' nest holes and a potential predator of eggs and small nestlings.{{Cite journal | last=Johnsson | first=Kristina | date=1994 | title=Colonial breeding and nest predation in the Jackdaw Corvus monedula using old Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius holes | journal=Ibis | volume=136 | issue=3 | pages=313–317 | doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1994.tb01100.x}} A few of the larger birds of prey that can hunt in woodlands may prey on black woodpeckers. Among those recorded are Ural owls (Strix uralensis),{{Cite journal | last=Lundberg | first=Arne | date=1981 | title=Population ecology of the Ural owl Strix uralensis in central Sweden | journal=Ornis Scandinavica | jstor=3676035 | volume=12 | issue=2 | pages=111–119 | doi=10.2307/3676035}} Eurasian eagle-owls (Bubo bubo),{{cite journal|author=Wassink, G. |year=2010|title=Het dieet van de Oehoe in Nederland en enkele aangrenzende gebieden in Duitsland|url=https://docplayer.nl/17202166-Het-dieet-van-de-oehoe-in-nederland-en-enkele-aangrenzende-gebieden-in-duitsland.html|journal= Limosa|volume= 83|pages= 97–108}} northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis),{{Cite journal | last1=Opdam | first1=P. | last2=Thissen | first2=J. | last3=Verschuren | first3=P. | last4=Müskens | first4=G. | s2cid=44631480 | date=1977 | title=Feeding ecology of a population of Goshawk Accipiter gentilis | journal=Journal für Ornithologie | volume=118 | issue=1 | pages=35–51 | doi=10.1007/BF01647356| bibcode=1977JOrni.118...35O }} common buzzards (Buteo buteo){{Cite journal | last1=Obuch | first1=Ján | last2=Šotnár | first2=Karol | s2cid=84497619 | date=2009 | title=Feeding ecology of a nesting population of the Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) in the Upper Nitra Region, Central Slovakia | journal=Slovak Raptor Journal | volume=3 | pages=13–20 | doi=10.2478/v10262-012-0028-0| doi-access=free }} and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos).

File:Pielisjärvi.vaakuna.svg, Finland]]

The municipality of Nurmijärvi in Uusimaa, Finland, has adopted the black woodpecker as the title bird of the municipality, because in addition to being a relatively common bird in the locality, it also appears in the literature of Aleksis Kivi, a Finnish national author, originally from Nurmijärvi.[https://www.nurmijarvi.fi/tule-nae-ja-koe-nurmijarvi/nae-ja-koe/tietoa-kunnasta/vaakunat-ja-tunnukset/ Vaakuna ja tunnukset – Nurmijärvi] (in Finnish) {{not in source|date=March 2024}} Nurmijärvi's local football club NJS has also adopted the black woodpecker as the club's logo.[https://www.nurmijarvenuutiset.fi/urheilu/1803034 Nurmijärven Jalkapalloseura tähtää suomalaisen futiksen huipulle – Nurmijärven Uutiset] (in Finnish)

Dryocopus martius martius is thought to be the woodpecker referred to in the augural instructions on the early Italic Iguvine Tablets by the Umbrian word peiqu, a bird "very prominent in early Italic religion and mythology."Poultney, J.W. "Bronze Tables of Iguvium" 1959 p. 1 https://archive.org/details/bronzetablesofig00poul/page/n19/mode/2up

• Black-bodied woodpecker
• Pileated woodpecker

{{Reflist}}

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• Gorman, Gerard (2004): Woodpeckers of Europe: A Study of the European Picidae. Bruce Coleman, UK. {{ISBN|1-872842-05-4}}.
• Gorman, Gerard (2011): The Black Woodpecker: A monograph on Dryocopus martius . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. {{ISBN|978-84-96553-79-8}}.

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black woodpecker

Category:Birds of Eurasia

Category:Birds of Russia

black woodpecker

black woodpecker