Family Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Iberian Green Woodpecker (Picus sharpei)
Taxonomy
Gecinus sharpei
H. Saunders
, 1872,Spain south of the Sierra de Guadarrama
.Usually considered conspecific with P. viridis and P. vaillantii, but differs from former in having very little or no black on face, so that face grey with red crown and red malar vs face black (on lores, supercilium to above eye, ocular area, moustachial area and in thin line around red malar) (3); red on crown narrower, allowing a grey-green supercilium (black in viridis) to continue over eye and also ear-coverts vs broader line covering postocular superciliary area and thus adjacent to ear-coverts (2); iris browner, not so white and thus much less contrasting (pale brown in grey face vs white in black face) (1); ear-coverts, neck and breast washed grey (ns[1]); black subterminal bars on grey-based red-tipped crown feathers (ns[1]); significant vocal differences involving patterns of dominant frequency and acceleration of the advertising-call (“song”)#R (2); narrow zone of intergradation in S France#R#R (2)); differs from vaillantii (geographically and morphologically closer) in its red vs black malar on male (3), blackish vs whitish area from commissure below lores back along cheek above malar (2), black-spotted red vs blackish-grey crown of female (2), little or no barring on lower underparts (ns[1]). Monotypic.
Pyrenees, Iberia and extreme S France (irregularly from Pyrénées-Atlantiques to Hérault).
bibliography
Pons, J.-M., Olioso G., Cruaud C. and Fuchs J. 2011. Phylogeography of the Eurasian green woodpecker (Picu viridis). J. Biogeogr. 38: 311-325.
Hybrid zone viridisxsharpei
Pons et al. 2011 and Perktas et al. 2011 found concordant phylogeographic patterns for Picus viridis using different molecular markers and different geographical samples. Both studies demonstrated that sharpei and viridis belong to two different lineages whose geographical distributions may be explained by climatic Pleistocene variations. Preliminary information about the hybrid zone between viridis and sharpei in southern France is available in Pons et al. 2011 and not in Perktas et al. 2011 as mentioned in the present species account.