Levaillant's woodpecker or Levaillant's green woodpecker, is a large African member of the woodpecker family Picidae.
Region
Northwest Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs from northern Morocco through northern Algeria to northwestern Tunisia. It favors open cork-oak, holm oak, and pine forests, maquis, and mature orchards with grassy clearings. The species is common along forest edges, riverine woodlands, and in mosaic landscapes where ant colonies are abundant. It avoids dense, closed-canopy forests and very arid scrub far from trees.
Altitude Range
0–2400 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Levaillant's woodpecker, also called Levaillant's green woodpecker, is a large Picus woodpecker confined to the Maghreb of Northwest Africa. It closely resembles the European green woodpecker but is brighter green with a yellowish rump and paler, less streaked underparts. Like its relatives, it feeds mainly on ants, probing the ground with a long sticky tongue. It nests in cavities it excavates in soft or decaying trees within open woodlands and forest edges.
Levaillant's Woodpecker in the Ourika Valley, Morocco
Egg of Picus vaillantii MHNT
Temperament
wary and alert
Flight Pattern
undulating flight with strong bursts
Social Behavior
Typically seen singly or in pairs, especially during the breeding season. Both sexes excavate nest cavities in soft or decaying trunks and share incubation and chick-rearing. Clutches usually contain 4–6 eggs, with fledging occurring after several weeks.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
The call is a loud, laughing series of notes reminiscent of the European green woodpecker, carrying far across open woodland. Drumming is relatively infrequent and usually short, used mainly for territorial display.
