The Iberian green woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to the Iberian peninsula. It was formerly considered as a subspecies of the European green woodpecker but differs in having little black on the head and a dusky rather than a black ring around each eye. Its sound has been described as sibilant, or hiss-like.
Region
Iberian Peninsula
Typical Environment
Found across much of Spain and Portugal wherever open woodlands, dehesa, orchards, and forest edges provide both ant-rich foraging grounds and mature trees for nesting. It favors mosaics of pasture, hedgerows, and scattered oaks, and readily uses parklands and riparian groves. Dense, closed-canopy conifer forests and treeless high plateaus are generally avoided. Nesting occurs in self-excavated cavities, often in softer dead or decaying wood.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Iberian green woodpecker is endemic to Spain and Portugal and was long treated as a subspecies of the European green woodpecker. It differs by having very little black on the head and a dusky eye-ring, and its call is notably more sibilant, almost hiss-like. It specializes in feeding on ants using a very long, sticky tongue and often forages on the ground in open woodland and dehesa landscapes.
Temperament
wary and secretive
Flight Pattern
undulating with deep wingbeats and short glides
Social Behavior
Generally seen singly or in pairs, especially in the breeding season. Monogamous pairs excavate nest cavities in spring, both sexes participating in excavation and chick-rearing. Outside breeding, it remains territorial but may tolerate neighbors where resources are abundant.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
The call is a series of sibilant, hiss-like notes reminiscent of a softer, more airy laugh than the European green woodpecker. It also gives sharp contact calls and quiet drumming; drumming is less frequent than in many other woodpeckers.
Plumage
Green upperparts with a bright yellow rump, paler greyish underparts, and very limited black on the head. Crown and nape are red; the eye-ring appears dusky rather than black. Feathers are smooth with subtle mottling on the underparts.
Diet
Primarily ants, including adults, larvae, and pupae, which it extracts from soil and anthills using a long, sticky tongue. It also takes other ground-dwelling insects and their larvae opportunistically. In lean seasons it may supplement with berries and other small fruits.
Preferred Environment
Feeds mostly on the ground in grazed pasture, open woodland, and dehesa with scattered trees and abundant ant nests. Edges of paths, lawns, and lightly disturbed soils in parks and orchards are also used.
