The European Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) rarely drums, instead giving itself away with its laughing call and its habit of searching for ants on open lawns. It measures 30-36 cm in length, has a wingspan of 45-51 cm and weighs 150-250 grams. The plumage is olive-green above with a pale yellow-green underside, a yellow rump, a red crown and a black "moustache" stripe; the male's moustache has a red core while the female's is entirely black.
Its call is a laughing, descending series, "klü-klü-klü-klü-klü", the characteristic green woodpecker "laugh", and it drums only rarely. The species is resident in southern and central Sweden, north to southern Norrland, with a population of 25,000-40,000 pairs, and lives in deciduous and mixed forest, parks and pastures with old trees, preferably near short-grass areas where it can be seen year-round. It is a specialist on ants, lapping them up with a long, sticky tongue from anthills on the ground; in harsh winters, when the anthills become inaccessible under snow, mortality can be severe, sometimes reaching 50 percent or more. It excavates its own nest hole in soft deciduous wood, requiring no ready-made cavity or box. The female lays 5-7 eggs, incubated for 17-19 days, and the chicks remain in the nest for a further 21-24 days before fledging.
Read about this species in Swedish →