Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus Scientific name definitions

23 cm; 55–63 g (Iran), 70–82 g (C Europe). Male has buffy nasal tufts and lower forehead, white to creamy upper forehead, black crown (rarely, a few scattered red feathers), red central hindcrown and nape, black hindneck; rest of head white, including thin line above eye, with black malar stripe expanding a little upwards on side of neck and continuing down to side of upper breast; dull black upperparts, white outer scapulars and innermost greater coverts, also some white median coverts, remaining wing-coverts black but outer primary coverts mostly white; black flight-feathers with large white spots forming 3 wingbars; uppertail black, outer feathers with a few white spots or white tip, next-inner rectrix sometimes with 1 white spot or bar; white to pale creamy below, becoming pinkish-red on lower belly to undertail-coverts, often faint dusky streaks or bars on lower flanks; rather long bill almost straight, chisel-tipped, dark grey to slaty-blue, paler base of lower mandible; iris red-brown, sometimes deep red; legs slate-grey with blue, brown or olive tinge. Distinguished from D. major by more white on head, including more extensively pale forehead, less white in tail, larger red nape patch, duller black upperparts, pinker (less red) vent, pale nasal tufts; from D. assimilis by black crown, stronger malar and stripe on side of breast, less white in tail. Female resembles male, but lacks red on nape. Juvenile slightly duller than adult, but often some pinkish feathers across upper breast (rarely, complete band), flanks usually with obvious streaks and bars, sometimes reaching breast side, both sexes with black-bordered red crown, black nape.

• Great Spotted x Syrian Woodpecker (hybrid) Dendrocopos major x syriacus

Austria, Czech Republic, Poland and S Belarus E to Ukraine and SW Russia, and S to Balkans, Turkey, Levant countries, extreme NE Egypt (NE Sinai), N Iraq, Transcaucasia, and to N, W & S Iran. Recent isolated record in W Kazakhstan (1 Zavialov, E.V., Tabachishin, V.G. and Mosolova, E.Y. (2008). Expansion of Syrian Woodpecker in European Russia and Ukraine. Dutch Birding 30(4): 236–238. Close , 2 Wassink, A., Ahmed, R., Busuttil, S. and Salemgareev, A. (2011). Oriental Plover, Franklin’s Gull, Syrian Woodpecker and Masked Shrike new to Kazakhstan. Dutch Birding 33(4): 239–244. Close ).

Open country with wooded areas. Often in plantations of all kinds, including olive, pecan (Carya) and avocado in S, and vineyards in C Europe, where also in roadside trees, groups of trees, mainly near habitations, also forest edge, parks and gardens. Inhabits oak (Quercus) woodland and light montane forest in SE; also breeds in coniferous forest at lower levels in Turkey. Lowlands to 700 m in C Europe; to 1000 m in Bulgaria and C Anatolia; reaches 2700 m in S Iran.

Animal food and a relatively large amount of plant material. Beetles and their larvae, ants, lepidopterous larvae (even hairy ones) and pupae; spiders; also various aerial insects. Nuts and seeds eaten both in summer and in winter, include almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazel nuts, apricot stones, acorns, pine seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios and similar; ripe fruits (e.g. apricots and prunes) taken to get at the seeds. Takes the flesh of cherries, mulberries, raspberries and other fruits, which may also be fed to nestlings. Sap sometimes taken. Forages singly and in pairs. Uses all levels, from ground to canopy, but almost half of all foraging takes place in lower strata. Hops on the ground, and moves swiftly during arboreal feeding. Marked seasonal changes, from foraging more in crown in winter to opportunistic habitat use during nesting season. Especially in summer, gleaning and probing most common foraging activities, and commonly takes prey on the wing. Anvils used frequently to process large insects (beetles), fruits and nuts. Covers relatively large distances between feeding sites, and between them and the nest.

Commonest call a single “kewg” (better rendered as “püg”, or “puc” pronounced as in French duc), sometimes in rapid series when alarmed at nest; also loud “kweg-kweg kriririrrrr”; loud series of distinct “kweek” notes characteristic during courtship. Drumming, mainly by male, in accelerating rolls up to twice as long as those of D. major.

Lays from mid- Apr to May, rarely to Jun. Lateral swinging displays and aerial chasing. Nest-hole excavated by both sexes, mostly by male, at 1–6 m in trunk  or large branch of tree, with wide variety of species used, less often in utility pole or similar structure; hole diameter averages 3·5 cm, cavity depth 20 cm; old nest sometimes reused. Clutch 3–7 eggs, usually 4 (Israel) or 5 (Hungary); incubation by both sexes, period 9–11 days; both also feed chicks and share nest sanitation, nestling period c. 20–24 days; juveniles accompanied by parents for 2 weeks. In a newly colonized area of SE Poland, median clutch 5 eggs (n = 56), 4.4 young hatched and 2.8 young fledged per nest on average; there was no confirmed nest predation, Common Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) causing the greatest number of losses (3 Michalczuk, J. and Michalczuk, M. (2016). The reproductive biology of the Syrian Woodpecker Dendrocopos syriacus in a newly colonized area of south-eastern Poland. Journal of Ornithology. 157(1): 179–187. Close ).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Common in most parts of range. European population estimated at c. 170,000 pairs, including 80,000 or more in Romania and at least 30,000 in Bulgaria; Turkish population 10,000–100,000 pairs, probably nearer lower end of that range. Densities much lower than those of D. major; highest in orchards and vineyards, where 0·5–1 pair/100 ha. Considerable range extension since late 19th century; formerly restricted to E Mediterranean, it spread via Balkans to C Europe, also E to Ukraine and European Russia (4 Zavialov, E.V., Tabachishin, V.G. and Mosolova, E.Y. (2008). Expansion of Syrian Woodpecker in European Russia and Ukraine. Dutch Birding. 30: 236–238. Close ); had colonized almost whole of Hungary by late 1950’s after first recorded there in 1937; rather rapid expansion to N & W in Poland since c. 1980; first recorded in NW Kazakhstan in 2010 (5 Wassink, A., Ahmed, R., Busuttil, S. and Salemgareev, A. (2011). Oriental Plover, Franklin's Gull, Syrian Woodpecker and Masked Shrike new to Kazakhstan. Dutch Birding. 33: 239–244. Close ). Range expansion probably fostered by agricultural development and other human activities. Some local declines in SE Europe (Greece, Albania) since c. 1985. Causes some damage in commercial plantations, especially of almond, also pecks holes in irrigation pipes in parts of Middle East; was formerly persecuted locally as a pest, and sometimes large numbers shot, but generally tolerated in more recent times.