Woodpeckers
Black Woodpecker
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Dryocopus martius
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Voice
Call
Call
Call
How to recognize it
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Nearly crow-sized, with a slender silhouette
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Black plumage; adult male with the whole crown red, female with red only on the hindcrown
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Slow, uneven wingbeats in flight, head held raised
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High-pitched calls, "kree-kree-kree"
About the species
The Black Woodpecker’s glossy plumage is almost entirely black, with a vivid red crown. On a male, red covers the whole crown; on a female, it is limited to the back of the head. Females can look a little browner overall, and both sexes have pale yellow eyes and a long, grayish bill.
Its calls carry through the woods: a repeated, high “kree-kree-kree,” or a sharp screech in flight. It hammers into dead or weakened trunks to reach insects and excavates large nest holes that other animals later use. Outside the breeding season, it generally keeps to itself, flying with slow, uneven wingbeats and its head held up.
Mature coniferous and mixed forests are its main home, though it also turns up in city parks and other wooded places. It feeds mainly on ants and beetle grubs, and generally stays in its range year-round, making only short winter movements.
Where to find
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In city parks, listen for loud calls and drumming from February to April; the drumming is weaker and less regular in August.
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In mature coniferous or mixed woodland, the black woodpecker hammers dead trunks for ants and wood-boring beetle grubs — watch for it working at the trunk.
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At an anthill in woodland, look for the mound being broken open as adult ants and pupae are dug out.
