Middle spotted woodpecker

    Dendrocopos medius

Castilian: Pico mediano

Catalan: Picot garser mitjà

Gallego: Peto mediano

Euskera: Okil ertaina

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Piciformes

Family: Picidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Near Threatened”.

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THREATS

This species lives mostly in mature forests, and for this reason tree felling in oak groves and beech woods and their replacement with other species places this bird's future in danger.

Length / size: 19,5-22 cm / 33-34 cm

Identification: Wryneck with an appearance and colouration similar to that of the great spotted woodpecker, although it is smaller and its bill is shorter. Its crown is red and more intense, and reaches the nape in males, and its moustache does not connect with neither its bill nor its nape.

Song: It songs is a repetition of nervous, explosive notes, "kweek-kweek", like that of other woodpeckers. It alarm call is a stronger sound, "aaak-aaak".

Diet: Like the other woodpeckers, its diet includes larvae and adult xylophagous insects that it finds in tree trunks and holes in the bark. In winter it complements its diet with seeds and fruits.

Reproduction: It begins betwen March and May with the calls that announce the territorial behaviour of the males. Once the pair has been formed, they search for an old and dying tree where they can make their nest in the weakened wood. The eggs are incubated by both adults and the chicks will be fed until they make their first flights.

HABITAT

It prefers mature or well-structured forests with lots of old trees, which are easy for it to work with using its bill. It occupies Pyrenean oaks groves, oak groves mixed with beeches, Portuguese oaks, pine trees and other forest species.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is only located in the Cantabrian and Pyrenees Mountains.

In Castile and León: It is distributed throughout the Cantabrian Mountains and in León and Palencia.

Movements and migrations: Some northeastern populations display nomadic behavior in autumn.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 1050-1200 breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: There is an estimated population of 350 breeding pairs.