NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
European Green Woodpecker
Picus viridis Linnaeus, 1758
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
European green woodpecker (Picus viridis) female, WWT London Wetland Centre, Barnes
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The European green woodpecker (Picus viridis), also known as the yaffle and sometimes called a nickle, is a large green woodpecker with a bright red crown and a black moustache. Males have a red centre to the moustache stripe which is absent in females. It is resident across much of Europe and the western Palearctic but in Spain and Portugal it is replaced by the similar Iberian green woodpecker (Picus sharpei).
The European green woodpecker spends much of its time feeding on ants on the ground and does not often 'drum' on trees like other woodpecker species. Though its vivid green and red plumage is particularly striking, it is a shy bird, and is more often heard than seen, drawing attention with its loud calls. A nest hole is excavated in a tree; four to six eggs are laid which hatch after 19–20 days.
Wikipedia contributors, European green woodpecker; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:11:30.665346+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Picus viridis Linnaeus, 1758
- Name authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Common name
- European Green Woodpecker
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Picus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPiciformes
- familyPicidae
- subfamilyPicinae
- genusPicus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesPicus viridis Linnaeus, 1758
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Picus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-headed WoodpeckerPicus erythropygius (D. G. Elliot, 1865) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-collared WoodpeckerPicus rabieri (Oustalet, 1898) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Laced WoodpeckerPicus vittatus Vieillot, 1818 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Streak-breasted WoodpeckerPicus viridanus Blyth, 1843 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Japanese Green WoodpeckerPicus awokera Temminck, 1836 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-headed WoodpeckerPicus canus J. F. Gmelin, 1788 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser YellownapePicus chlorolophus Vieillot, 1818 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Scaly-bellied WoodpeckerPicus squamatus Vigors, 1831 | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Levaillant's WoodpeckerPicus vaillantii (Malherbe, 1847) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Streak-throated WoodpeckerPicus xanthopygaeus (J. E. Gray & G. R. Gray, 1847) | PicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=554121 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4HR3F. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.