Other Names (World)
Eurasian Green Woodpecker, European Green Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Levaillant's Woodpecker, Levaillant's Green Woodpecker, Algerian Woodpecker, Algerian Green Woodpecker, North African Green Woodpecker (vaillantii), Iberian Woodpecker (sharpei), Yaffle
Subspecies
Has hybridized with Grey-faced Woodpecker (Picus canus) in central Europe. Distinctive northern African subspecies vaillantii is often treated as a full species on basis of plumage differences and possibly ecological differences, but Iberian form sharpei, also sometimes suggested as a separate species, effectively represents an intermediate bridge between it and nominate. Subspecies karelini intergrades with nominate.
Other proposed subspecies are pluvius (Britain), frondium (central Europe), pronus (Italy), dofleini (Macedonia), romaniae (Romania) and saundersi (Caucasus), all of which exhibit insignificant differences which come within range of variation of other subspecies. Additional named form bampurensis, known only from type locality in R Bampur Basin in south-eastern Iran (where species no longer survives), said to have particularly well-marked tailbars and heavy barring over entire lower underparts; validity and possible survival of this isolated form requires further investigation.
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
viridis Linnaeus, 1758 - Europe from Britain and southern Scandinavia east to western Russia, south to France, northern Balkans and Black Sea.
sharpei (Saunders, 1872) - Pyrenees and Iberia. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Iberian Green Woodpecker (Picus sharpei).
karelini von Brandt, JF, 1841 - Italy east to Bulgaria, Asia Minor, Caucasus, northern Iran and south-western Turkmenia.
vaillantii (Malherbe, 1847) - Mountains of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Maghreb Green Woodpecker (Picus vaillantii).
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Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet