BIRD 4

Here is another black-and-white woodpecker, which, as stated before, most likely puts it in the genus Dendrocopos. It is perched at an inconvenient angle, but is showing enough to identify it with confidence. The first thing that may strike you is that this woodpecker has strikingly barred wings and back, rather than elongated white shoulder patches. This should make you think of Lesser Spotted and White-backed Woodpeckers, and rules out the other species. But there is pink on the undertail, which you would never see on an LSW. This is a White-backed Woodpecker. You can just see the gap in the bar between moustache and nape and the red crown, which means it is a male.

KEY FEATURES †Strikingly white-barred upperparts †Pink undertail rules out Lesser Spotted Woodpecker †Streaky flanks †Red crown confirms this is a male