Medium-sized (about 33 cm or 13 in), sturdy bird, with green plumage, more intense on the back. Greyish and yellowish breast and ventral area. Head with nape and forehead of red colour, black mask and red moustachial stripe with black border (females with entirely black moustachial stripe). Uppertail in yellow colour and black borders. Green wings with black borders.
Woodland environment
Woodland species. The European Green Woodpecker occupies all kinds of forests, including partially wooded countryside and parks and gardens. It prefers edges of forests, riverbanks and not very dense deciduous masses.
Species resident in the province all year round. It starts breeding in March. Nest inside a tree with rotten or soft bark. This bird lays from 5 to 7 eggs and feeds on xylophagous insects (wood eaters) and their eggs and larvae that it searches among the bark of trees. Bill less sturdy than that of the Great Spotted Woodpecker. It does not chisel the wood equally effectively. Able to capture and extract ants from the anthills with its long, sticky tongue.
It is a frequent and common bird in the forests and groves of the province. In the Great Path it can be observed in, for example, in stages 6, 7, 12, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32 and 33.
European green woodpeckers betray their presence in the forest emitting a typical and characteristic call that sounds like a "whinny".
- Arroyo de la Ventilla
- Camino de la Fuenfría
- El Alcázar - La Maroma
- El Cerro de Santi Petri
- Fuente de los 100 Caños
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 06. Frigiliana - Cómpeta
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 07. Cómpeta - Canillas de Aceituno
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 11. Alfarnate - Villanueva del Rosario
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 12. Villanueva del Rosario - Archidona
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 25. Estación de Benaoján - Jimera de Líbar
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 27. Benalauría - Genalguacil
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 28. Genalguacil - Casares
- Great Malaga Path (GR 249). Stage 33. Mijas - Benalmádena
- Hoz de Marín
- Llanos de Líbar
- Montes de Malaga Natural Park
- Quejigales - Puerto de Los Pilones
- Refugio de Juanar
- Río del Burgo
- Río Guadalmina
- Sierra del Padrastro
- Valley of Genal River
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