Black woodpecker in Polissia
Dryocopus martius
The black woodpecker is the size of a crow, entirely black with a pale bill. The male has a completely red crown, the female only a red nape. Its flight is undulating, with loud calls.
The black woodpecker lives in the old pine and mixed forests of Polissia, where there are thick trees for nest holes. It is common in all of Polissia's reserves and national parks.
The woodpecker excavates large oval holes that are later used by other birds, bats and squirrels. It feeds on ants and beetle larvae, so in the forest you can see deep holes chiselled into stumps and anthills. In spring black woodpeckers call loudly and drum hard with their bills on dead trunks.
Old hollow trees left standing in the forest are key to preserving both the black woodpecker and the many other animals that live in its holes.
When to see: all year; in spring loud calls and drumming
Where it was seen in Polissia
Observations from the open scientific database GBIF since 1990.
More in “Birds”
Common kingfisher
A small, brightly coloured bird of Polissia's rivers that dives for fish from a branch above the water.
Eurasian curlew
A large wader with a long, down-curved bill, a dweller of Polissia's meadows and raised bogs.
White stork
The symbol of the Polissia village: white stork nests on poles, trees and roofs are found in almost every settlement.
Black stork
A secretive relative of the white stork that nests in Polissia's remote old forests near bogs and forest rivers.